THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES 

EDITED BY MARTIN HUME, M.A. 



THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES 

Edited by Martin Hume 
Each Volume Demy 8vo, cloth. 



VOL. I. 



Second Edition 



CHILE 



Its History and Development, Natural Features, Products, 
Commerce and Present Conditions. By G. F. Scott 
Elliott, M.A., F.R.G.S., Author of "A Naturalist in Mid 
Africa." With an Introduction by Martin Hume, a Map, 
and many Illustrations. 

" An exhaustive and interesting account, not only of the turbulent 
history of this country but of her present conditions and seeming 
prospects." — Westminster Gazette. 

" Will be found attractive and useful reading by the student of 
history, the geographer, the naturalist, and last, but assuredly not 
least, the British merchant." — Scotsman. 



VOL. II. 



PERU 



Its Former and Present Civilisation, History and Exist- 
ing Conditions, Topography and Natural Resources, 
Commerce and General Development. By C. Reginald 
Enock, F.R.G.S., Author of " The Andes and the Amazon." 
With an Introduction by Martin Hume, a Map, and 
numerous Illustrations. 

" An important work. . . . The writer possesses a quick eye and 
a keen intelligence ; is many-sided in his interests, and on certain 
subjects speaks as an expert. The volume deals fully with the 
development of the country, and is written in the same facile and 
graphic style as before. Illustrated by a large number of excellent 
photographs." — The Times. 

"A magnificent collection of information on this interesting 
country. The author's vivid and eloquent description invests it for 
us with some of the glamour it possessed for the Conquistadores 
of the sixteenth century ; and on closing the book the reader feels 
tempted to set out at once for Peru." — Yorkshire Observer. 

LONDON : T. FISHER UNWIN 
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



MEXICO 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 

THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON 

LIFE AND TRAVEL IN PERU 

THIRD EDITION 

WITH A MAP AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 

I Medium 8vo. Cloth. 

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 

" It would indeed be difficult to find any book on modern South 
America which contains a larger amount of valuable information 
for every class of reader." — The Times. 

" Mr. Enock has written a delightful book, crowded with 
material of surpassing interest and value for the geographer, 
the historian, the naturalist, the engineer, and the traveller, to say 
nothing of the general reader." — The Morning Post. 

" Singularly graphic. . . . Every aspect of the position of affairs 
in Peru is touched upon : the races, the resources of the state, the 
scenery, and the possibilities of the future, are all brought to our 
notice in a way that is quite enchanting." — Illustrated London News. ■ 

" A really beautifully produced book, worthy to take a place on 
the book-shelves of the connoisseur beside the best specimens of 
the modern press." — The World's Work. 

LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN 
NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/mexicoitsancient01enoc 



MEXICO 

« 

ITS ANCIENT AND MODERN CIVILISATION 
HISTORY AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS 
TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL RESOURCES 
INDUSTRIES AND GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 



X*-' BY 

C^'^^REGINALD KNOCK, i'.R.G.S 

CIVIL AND MINlAo' ENGINEER 
AUTHOR OF "PERU" AND "THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON" 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
MARTIN HUME, M.A. 



WITH A MAP AND SEVENTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS 



NEW YORK : CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN 

MCMX 



0* 



First Edition . 
Second Impression 



igog 
igio 




(All rights reserved.) 



PREFACE 

The purpose of this work is to treat of Mexico as a 
topographical and political entity, based upon a study 
of the country from travel and observation ; a method 
such as has found favour in my book upon Peru. The 
method of viewing a country as a whole, with its people, 
topography, and general conditions in natural relation to 
each other, is one which commands growing acceptance 
in a busy age. I have been able to observe much of the 
actual life and character of Spanish-American countries 
from considerable travel therein. Both Mexico and 
Peru ever lured me on as seeming to hold for me 
some El Dorado, and if I have not reaped gold as the 
Conquistadores did, there are nevertheless other matters 
of satisfaction accruing to the traveller from his journeys 
in those splendid territories of mountain and forest. 

Mexico, superfluous to say, is not part of South 
America, although this book appears in this series. But 
it is part of that vast Spanish-speaking New World whose 
development holds much of interest ; and which may 
occupy a more important part in coming years than 
is generally thought of at present. 

THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . • , . xxi 

INTRODUCTION BY MARTIN HUME . , . . XXV 

CHAPTER I 
A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE . . . . .1 

Romance of history — Two entrance ways — Vera Cruz — Orizaba 
— The Great Plateau — Fortress of Ulua — Sierra Madre — Topo- 
graphical structure — The Gulf coast — Tropical region — Birds, 
animals, and vegetation of coast zone — Ticrra calicnte — Malaria — 
Foothills — Romantic scenery — General configuration of Mexico 
— Climatic zones — Temperate zone — Cold zone — The Cordillera 
— Snow-capped peaks — Romance of mining — Devout miners — 
Subterranean shrines — The great deserts — Sunset on the Great 
Plateau — Coyotes and zopilotes — Irrigated plantations — Railways 
— Plateau of Anahuac — The cities of the mesa central — Spanish- 
American civilisation — Romance of Mexican life — Mexican girls, 
music, and moonlight — The peones and civilisation — American 
comparisons — Pleasing traits of the Mexicans — The foreigner in 
Mexico — Picturesque mining-towns — Wealth of silver — Con- 
ditions of travel — Railways — Invasions — Lerdo's axiom — Roads 
and horsemen — Strong religious sentiment — Popocatepetl and 
Ixtaccihuatl — Sun-god of Teotihuacan — City of Mexico — Valley 
of Mexico — The Sierra Madre — Divortia aquarum of the con- 
tinent — Volcano of Colima — Forests and Ravines — Cuernavaca 
— The trail of Cortes — Acapulco — Romantic old haciendas — 
Tropic sunset — Unexplored Guerrero — Perils and pleasures of 
the trail — Sunset in the Pacific Ocean. 

CHAPTER II 
THE DAWN OF MEXICO : TOLTECS AND AZTECS . . 20 

Lake Texcoco — Valley of Anahuac— Seat of the Aztec civilisation 
— Snow-capped peaks — Pyramids of Teotihuacan — Toltecs — The 
first Aztecs — The eagle, cactus, and serpent — Aztec oracle and 
wanderings— Tenochtitlan — Prehistoric American civilisations — 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Maya, Incas — Quito and Peru — The dawn of history— The Toltec 
empire — Rise, re^me, fall — Ouetzalcoatl — Otomies — Chichemecas 
— Nezahualcoyotl — Astlan — The seven tribes and their wander- 
ings — Mexican war-god — The Teocallis — Human sacrifices — 
Prehistoric City of Mexico — The Causeways — Aztec arts, kings, 
and civilisation — Montezuma — Guatemoc — Impressions of the 
Spaniards — The golden age of Texcoco — Vandalism of Spanish 
archbishop — The poet-king and his religion — Temple to the 
Unknown God — Aztecs and Incas compared — The Tlascalans — 
The Otomies — Cholula — Mexican tribes — Aztec buildings — Pre- 
historic art — Origin of American prehistoric civilisation — Biblical 
analogies — Supposed Asiatic and I^Egyptian origins — Aboriginal 
theory. 



CHAPTER III 

THE STRANGE CITIES OF EARLY MEXICO . . '37 

Principal prehistoric monuments — Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan 
— Pyramids of Teotihuacan — Toltec sun-god — Pyramid of Cho- 
lula — Pyramids of Monte Alban — Ruins of Mitla — Remarkable 
monoliths and sculpture — Beautiful prehistoric stone-masonry — 
Ruins of Palenque — Temple of the Sun, and others — Stone vault 
construction — Tropical vegetation — Ruins of Yucatan — Maya 
temples — Architectural skill — Temples of Chichen-Ytza — Bar- 
baric sculpture — Effect of geology on building — The Aztec 
civilisation — Land and social laws — Slavery — Taxes, products, 
roads, couriers — Analogy with Peru — Aztec homes and industries 
—War, human sacrifice, cannibalism — History, hieroglyphics, 
picture-writing — Irrigation, agriculture, products — Mining, sculp- 
ture, pottery — Currency and commerce — Social system — Advent 
of the white man. 



CHAPTER IV 

CORTES AND THE CONQUEST . . . .56 

Landing of Cortes — Orizaba peak — The dawn of conquest — 
Discovery of Yucatan — Velasquez and Grijalva — Life and cha- 
racter of Cortes — Cortes selected to head the expedition — > 
Departure from Cuba — Arrival at Yucatan — The coast of Vera 
Cruz — Marina — Vera Cruz established — Aztec surprise at guns 
and horses — Montezuma — Dazzling Aztec gifts — Messages to 
Montezuma — Hostility of the Aztecs — Key to the situation — The 
Cempoallas — Father Olmedo — Religion and hypocrisy of the 
Christians — March to Cempoalla — Montezuma's tax-collectors — 
Duplicity of Cortes — Vacillation of Montezuma — Destruction of 
Totonac idols — Cortes despatches presents to the King of Spain 



CONTENTS xi 



PAGE 



— Cortes destroys his ships — March towards the Aztec capital — 
Scenery upon Hne of march — The fortress of Tlascala — Brusque 
variations of cHmate — The Tlascalans — Severe fighting — Capitu- 
lation of Tlascala — Faithful allies — Messengers from Montezuma 
— March to Cholula — Massacre of Cholula — The snow-capped 
volcanoes — First sight of Tenochtitlan. 



CHAPTER V 
THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY . , , ' 1^ 

The Valley of Mexico — The City and the Causeways — The 
Conquistadores enter Mexico City — Meeting of Cortes and Monte- 
zuma — Greeting of the Aztec emperor to the Spaniards — 
Tradition of Quetzalcoatl — Splendid reception — The Teocalli — 
Spanish duplicity — Capture of Montezuma — Spanish gambling — 
News from Vera Cruz — Forced march to the coast — Cortes 
defeats Narvaez — Bad news from Mexico — Back to the capital — 
Alvarado's folly— Barbarous acts of the Spaniards — The fight on 
the pyramid — Destruction of Aztec idols — Death of Montezuma 
— Spaniards flee from the city — Frightful struggle on the 
Causeway — Alvarado's leap — The Noche Triste — Battle of Otumba 
— Marvellous victory — Spanish recuperation — Cuitlahuac and 
Guatemoc— Fresh operations against the capital — Building of 
the brigantines — Aztec tenacity — Expedition to Cuernavaca — 
Xochimilco — Attack upon the city — Struggles and reverses — 
Sacrifice of Spaniards — Desertion of the Allies — Return of the 
Allies — Renewed attacks — Fortitude of the Aztecs — The famous 
catapult — Sufferings of the Aztecs — Final attack — ^Appalling 
slaughter — Ferocious Tlascalans — Fall of Mexico. 



CHAPTER VI 

MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS . . . .98 

General considerations — Character of Viceroy rule — Spanish 
civilisation — Administration of Cortes — Torture of Guatemoc — 
Conquests of Guatemala and Honduras — Murder of Guatemoc 
— Fall of Cortes — First viceroy Mendoza — His good administra- 
tion — Misrule of the Audiencias — Slavery and abuse of the 
Indians — The Philippine islands — Progress under the Viceroys 
— Plans for draining the Valley of Mexico — British buccaneers — 
Priestly excesses — Raid of Agramonte — Exploration of California 
— Spain and England at war — Improvements and progress in 
the eighteenth century— Waning of Spanish power — Decrepitude 



xii CONTENTS 



PAGE 

of Spain — Summary of Spanish rule — Spanish gifts to Mexico — 
The rising of Hidalgo — Spanish oppression of the colonists — 
Oppression by the colonists of the Indians — Republicanism and 
liberty — Operations and death of Hidalgo — The revolution of 
Morelos — Mier — The dawn of Independence — The birth of 
Spanish-American nations. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO • . .113 

Monarchical regime of Iturbide — Great area of Mexican Empire — 
Santa Anna — The Holy Alliance — Execution of Iturbide — The 
Monroe doctrine — British friendship — The United States — 
Masonic institutions — Political parties — Expulsion of Spaniards — 
Revolution and crime — Clerical antagonism — Foreign complica- 
tions — The " pie-war " — The Texan war — The slavery question 
— Mexican valour — American invasion of Mexico — Fall of Mexico 
— Treaty of Guadalupe — Cession of California — Gold in Cali- 
fornia — Benito Juarez appears — Conservatives and Liberals — 
Massacre of Tacubaya — The Reform laws — Disestablishment of 
the Church — Dishonest Mexican finance — Advent of Maximilian 
— The English, Spanish, and French expedition — Perfidy of the 
French — Capture of Mexico City by the French — Crowning of 
Maximilian — Porfirio Diaz — Rule of Maximilian — Fall of his 
empire — Death of Maximilian — The tragedy of Queretaro — Diaz 
takes Mexico City — Presidency of Juarez — Lerdo — Career and 
character of Diaz — First railways built — Successful administra- 
tion of Diaz — Political stability — Forward policy. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS : MOUNTAINS, TABLELANDS, AND 

FLORA AND FAUNA . . . . -134 

Geographical conditions — Tehuantepec — Yucatan — Boundaries 
and area — Population — Vera Cruz — Elevations above sea-level — 
Latitude — General topography — The Great Plateau — ^The Sierra 
Madres — The Mexican Andes — General structure — The coasts — 
Highest peaks — Snow-cap and volcanoes — Geological formation 
— Geological scenery — Hydrographic systems — Rivers — Naviga- 
tion — Water-power — Lakes — Climate and temperatures — The 
three climatic zones — Rainfall — Snowfall — Flora and fauna — 
Soil — Singular cactus forms — The desert flora — The tropical 
flor-i — Forest regions — Wild animals — Serpents, monkeys, and 
felidse — Sporting conditions — Birds. 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER IX 

PAGE 

THE MEXICAN PEOPLE ..... I54 

Ethnic conditions— Spanish, Mestizos, Indians — Colour-line — 
Foreign element — The feones — Land tenure — The Spanish 
people — The native tribes — The Apaches — The Mexican consti- 
tution — Class distinctions — Mexican upper class — Courtesy and 
hospitality — Quixotism of the Mexicans — Idealism and elo- 
quence — General characteristics — Ideas of progress — American 
anomalies — Haciendas — Sport — Military distinctions — Compari- 
son with Anglo-Saxons — Republicanism — Language — Life in 
the cities — Warlike instincts — The women of Mexico — Mexican 
youths — Religious observance — Romantic Mexican damsels — 
The bull-fights. 

CHAPTER X 
THE CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS OF MEXICO . . I78 

Character of Mexican cities — Value of Mexican civilisation — 
Types of Mexican architecture — Mexican homes and buildings 
— The Plaza — Social relations of classes — The City of Mexico — 
Valley of Mexico — Latitude, elevation, and temperature — Build- 
ings — Bird's-eye view — The lakes — Drainage works — Viga canal 
and floating gardens — General description — The cathedral — Art 
treasures — Religious orders — Chapultepec — Paseo de la Reforma 
— The President — Description of a bull-fight — Country homes 
and suburbs — Colleges, clubs, literary institutions — Churches 
and public buildings — Army and Navy — Cost of living — Police 
— Lighting and tramways — Canadian enterprise — British com- 
mercial relations — The American — United States influence — ^A 
general impression of Mexico. 



CHAPTER XI 
MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL .... 2&J 

Travel and description — Mexican cities — Guadalajara — Lake 
Chapala — Falls of Juanacatlan — The Pacific slope — Colima — 
Puebla — Cities of the Great Plateau — Guanajuato — Chihuahua 
— The Apaches — The peones — Comparison with Americans — 
Peon labour system — Mode of living — Houses of the peon class 
— Diet — Tortillas and frijoles — Chilli — Pulque — Habits of the 
peon class — Their religion — The wayside crosses and their 
tragedies — -Ruthless political executions — The fallen cross — 
Similarity to Bible scenes — Peon superstitions — The ignis fatuus, 
or relation — Caves and buried treasure — Prehistoric Mexican 
religion — The Teocallis — Comparison with modern religious 
systems — Philosophical considerations. 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XII 

PAGE 

MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL {continued) . . . 23O 

Anthropogeographical conditions — The Great Plateau — The 
tropical belt — Primitive villages — Incidents of travel on the 
plateau — Lack of water — Hydrographic conditions — Venomous 
vermin — Travel by roads and diligencias — A journey with a 
priest — Courtesy of the peon class — The curse of alcohol — The 
dress of the working classes — The women of the peon class — 
Dexterity of the natives — The bull-fights — A narrow escape — 
Mexican horse equipment — The vaqiiero and the lasso — Native 
sports — A challenge to a duel — Foreigners in Mexico — Un- 
explored Guerrero — Sporting conditions — Camp life — A day's 
hunting. 



CHAPTER XIII 
MINERAL WEALTH. ROMANCE AND ACTUALITY . . 255 

Forced labour in the mines — Silver and bloodshed — History of 
discovery — Guanajuato — the veta Madrc — Spanish methods— 
Durango — Zacatecas — Pachuca — The patio process — Quicksilver 
from Peru — Cornish miners' graves — Aztec mining — Spanish 
advent — Old mining methods — Romance of mining — The Cerro 
de Mercado — Guanajuato and Hidalgo — Real del Monte — 
Religion and mining — Silver and churches — Subterranean altars 
— Mining and the nobility — Spanish mining school— Modern 
conditions — The mineral-bearing zone — Distribution of minerals 
geographically — Silver — The patio process — Gold-mining and 
production — El Oro and other districts — Copper — Other minerals 
— General mineral production — Mining claims and laws. 



CHAPTER XIV 

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, GENERAL CONDITIONS 282 

Principal cultivated products — Timber — The three climatic zones 
— General agricultural conditions — Waste of forests — Irrigation 
— Region of the river Nazas — Canal-making — Cotton and sugar- 
cane — Profitable agriculture — Mexican country-houses — Fruit 
gardens — Food products, cereals, and fibrous plants — Pulque 
production — India-rubber and giiayule — List of agricultural pro- 
ducts and values — Fruit culture and values — Forestry and land 
— Colonisation — American land-sharks — Conditions of labour — 
Asiatics — Geographical distribution of products — The States of 
the Pacific slope — Sonora — Lower California — Sinaloa — Tepic 
— ^Jalisco — Colima — Michoacan — Guerreo — Oaxaca — Chiapas. 



CONTENTS XV 



CHAPTER XV 



PAGE 



NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, GENERAL CONDITIONS 

{continued) ...... 308 

Central and Atlantic States — Chihuahua and the Rio Grande — 
Mining, forests, railways — Coahuila and its resources — Nuevo 
Leon and its conditions — Iron, coal, railways, textile industries 
— Durango and its great plains and mountain peaks — Aguas- 
calientes — Zacatecas and its mineral wealth — San Luis Potosi 
and its industries — Guanajuato, Queretaro and Hidalgo, and 
their diversified resources — Mexico and its mountains and plains 
— ^Tlaxcala — Morelos and its sugar-cane industry — The rich 
State of Puebla — Tamaulipas, a littoral state — The historic State 
of Vera Cruz, its resources, towns, and harbour — Campeche and 
the peninsula of Yucatan. 



CHAPTER XVI 
MEXICAN FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, AND RAILWAYS . , 328 

Financial rise of Mexico — Tendencies toward restriction against 
foreigners — National control of railways — Successful financial 
administration — Favourable budgets — Good trade conditions — 
Foreign liabilities — Character of exports and imports — Com- 
merce with foreign nations — Banks and currency — Principal 
industries — Manufacturing conditions — Labour, water-power, 
and electric installations — Textile industry, tobacco, iron and 
steel, paper, breweries, etc. — Railways — The Mexican railway 
— The Mexican Central railway — The National Railroad — The 
Interoceanic — Government consolidation — The Tehuantepec 
railway — Port of Salina Crur — Other railway systems. 



CHAPTER XVII 
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ..... 350 

Mexico's unique conditions — Her future — Asiatic immigrants — 
Fostering of the native race — Encouraging of immigration — The 
white man in the American tropics — Future of Mexican manu- 
factures — The Pan-American Congress — Pan-American railway 
— Mexico and Spain — The Monroe doctrine — Mexico, Europe, 
and the United States — Promising future of Mexico. 



INDEX ..••,,. 357 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



AN IDYLL OF MEXICO : INDIAN CARRIERS, RUINED CHURCH, AND 

SNOW-CLAD PEAK OF ORIZABA . . . Frontispiece 

FACING PAGE 
THE ATLANTIC SLOPE : TUNNEL AND BRIDGE OF THE INFIERNILLO 

CANON ON THE MEXICAN RAILWAY, IN THE STATE OF VERA CRUZ . 4 

THE GREAT PLATEAU : NIGHTFALL IN THE DESERT . . .J 

ON THE GREAT PLATEAU : VIEW OF THE CITY OF DURANGO . . 9 

ORIZABA, CAPPED WITH PERPETUAL SNOW ; VIEW ON THE MEXICAN 

RAILWAY AT CORDOBA . . . . . '14 

PINE-CLAD HILLS FORMING THE RIM OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO, 

8,000 FEET ELEVATION ABOVE SEA-LEVEL , . . . I6 

TYPICAL VILLAGE OF THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE, STATE OF COLIMA . 18 

THE FINDING OF THE SITE FOR THE PREHISTORIC CITY OF MEXICO 

BY THE FIRST AZTECS . . . . . .21 

{From the painting in Mexico.) 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : TOLTEC PYRAMID OR TEOCALLI OF THE SUN 

AT SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN . . . . . .24 

{Exploration and restoration work being carried on.) 

THE VALLEY OF MEXICO ; VIEW ON LAKE TEXCOCO ; THEl MODERN 

CITY OF MEXICO IN THE DISTANCE . . . . .26 

THE LAND OF THE AZTEC CONQUESTS : MAIZE FIELDS NEAR ESPERANZA, 

STATE OF PUEBLA . . . . . . . 3I 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : RUINS OF EL FOLOC AT CHICHEN-YTZA, 

YUCATAN . , . , . . . .35 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN AT TEOTIHUACAN 
IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO, SEEN FROM THE PYRAMID OF THE 
MOON . . . . . . . . .38 

I* »vU 



xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 
PREHISTORIC MEXICO : RUINS OF MITLA ; FACADE OF THE HALL OF 

THE COLUMNS . . . . . . . -41 

(The ste-ps have been " restored" by the photographer.) 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : RUINS OF MITLA ; HALL OF THE MONOLITHS 

OR COLUMNS . . . . . . . .43 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : RUINS OF MITLA ; THE HALL OF THE GRECQUES 48 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO: RUINS OF TEMPLE AT CHICHEN-YTZA, IN 

YUCATAN . . . . . . . -53 

PREHISTORIC MEXICO : RUINS OF " THE PALACE " AT CHICHEN-YTZA 

IN YUCATAN . . . . . . . . 61 

THE LAND OF THE CONQUEST : STATE OF VERA CRUZ ; VIEW ON THE 
MEXICAN RAILWAY ; THE TOWN OF MALTRATA IS SEEN 
THOUSANDS OF FEET BELOW . . . . . . 68 

THE LAND OF THE CONQUEST : A VALLEY IN THE STATE OF VERA 

CRUZ, ON THE LINE OF THE MEXICAN RAILWAY . . -74 

THE LAKES OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO AT THE TIME OF THE 

CONQUEST, SHOWING THE CAUSEWAYS TO THE AZTEC ISLAND- 
CITY OF TENOCHTITLAN . . . . . '7^ 
{Front Prescott's " Conquest of Mexico.") 

THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO : CORTES AT THE BATTLE OF OTUMBA . 87 
{From the painting by Ramirez.) 

GUANAJUATO, AS SEEN FROM THE HILLS : THE HISTORIC TREASURE- 
HOUSE OF MEXICO ....... 104 

STATUE OF HIDALGO AT MONTERREY ..... I08 

THE CASTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC ...... 121 

CITY OF OAXACA : SPANISH-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE ; THE PORTALES 

OF THE MUNICIPAL PALACE AND PLAZA .... 127 

THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, GENERAL PORFIRIO DIAZ , . . I32 

MEXICO'S ARTIFICIAL HARBOURS ON THE ATLANTIC : THE NEW PORT 

WORKS AT VERA CRUZ, A SOLID AND COSTLY ENTERPRISE . I36 

ASCENDING THE MEXICAN CORDILLERA, OR EASTERN SIERRA MADRE : 

THE RAILWAY IS SEEN IN THE VALLEY FAR BELOW 138 

THE PEAK OF ORIZABA ; PLAZA OF THE CITY OF CORDOVA . . I4O 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xix 

FACING PAGE 
THE FALLS OF JUANACATLAN : THE NIAGARA OF MEXICO . . I44 

THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE : GENERAL VIEW OF THE CITY AND 

ENVIRONS OF COLIMA ....... 147 

A RARE OCCURRENCE : SNOWFALL IN A MEXICAN TOWN ; VIEW OF 

THE PLAZA OF LERDO, ON THE GREAT PLATEAU . . . I49 

A ROAD IN THE TEMPERATE ZONE, WITH PALMS AND VEGETATION . 15I 

VEGETATION IN THE TROPICAL FORESTS . . . . .153 

THE MEXICAN PEONES : STREET SCENE AT CORDOVA . . . 160 

TYPES OF MEXICANS OF THE UPPER CLASS : AN ARCHBISHOP ; A 
FAMOUS GENERAL AND MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS ; A FAMOUS 
MINISTER OF FINANCE, SENOR LIMANTOUR ; A STATE GOVERNOR . 164 

MEXICAN LIFE : THE CATHEDRAL AND THE PENITENTIARY, CITY OF 

PUEBLA ........ 166 

THE FAMOUS MEXICAN " RURALES," OR MEXICAN MOUNTED POLICE . I72 

SPANISH-COLONIAL CHURCH ARCHITECTURE : A TYPICAL MEXICAN 

TEMPLE . . . . . . . .176 

SPANISH-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE : THE PORTALES OF CHOLULA . 180 

A PUBLIC GARDEN IN TROPICAL MEXICO : VIEW AT COLIMA . . 184 

THE VALLEY OF MEXICO : THE GREAT DRAINAGE CANAL . . 188 

THE CATHEDRAL OF THE CITY OF MEXICO . . . . I9I 

BULL-FIGHT IN THE CITY OF MEXICO, SHOWING THE SPECTATORS 

OF THE "SOL," THE PICADORES, AND THE ENTERING BULL . 194 



MEXICAN STREET SCENE : A PULQUE SHOP WITH ARTIST 
PAINTED EXTERIOR ..... 

MEXICAN ARTILLERY : A WAYSIDE ENCAMPMENT 

CITY OF GUADALAJARA : INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL 

A TOBACCO-PRODUCING HACIENDA : STATE OF VERA CRUZ 

MEXICAN PEON LIFE : TYPICAL VILLAGE MARKET-PLACE 

THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE : COCOA-NUT PALMS AT COLIMA 



CALLY- 

. 198 

. 202 

. 208 

• 213 

. 215 

. 230 



LIFE AND TRAVEL IN MEXICO : MULES, PEON, AND CACTUS . 235 



XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 
NATIVE WOMEN OF TEHUANTEPEC : ORDINARY DRESS AND CHURCH- 
GOING COSTUMES . . . . . . • . 240 

THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE : THE PLAZA AND ENVIRONS OF THE CITY 

OF COLIMA ........ 302 

MEXICAN ARTIFICIAL HARBOURS ON THE PACIFIC COAST : THE NEW 
PORT WORKS OF SALINA CRUZ, TERMINUS OF THE TEHUANTEPEC 
RAILWAY ........ 306 

GENERAL VIEW OF THE CITY OF MONTERREY, STATE OF NUEVO 

LEON, UPON THE GREAT PLATEAU ..... 3H 

TYPICAL SIDE STREET IN MEXICAN VILLAGE : THE TOWN OF AMECA 

AND CLOUD-EFFECT ON POPOCATEPETL . . . .3x9 

STATE OF VERA CRUZ : THE BARRANCA OR RAVINE OF MITLAC ; VIEW 

ON THE MEXICAN RAILWAY . . ... 322 

(Far below in the valley is seen the bridge depicted at p. 340.) 

VERA CRUZ : SHIPPING IN THE NEW HARBOUR .... 324 

BRITISH ENGINEERING WORK IN MEXICO : BUILDING A BREAKWATER . 336 

THE MITLAC RAVINE : VIEW ON THE MEXICAN RAILWAY . . 34O 

BRIDGES OVER THE ATOYAC RIVER : MEXICAN RAILWAY . . 342 

THE SEAPORT OF VERA CRUZ ...... 344 

NEW PORT OF SALINA CRUZ, ON THE PACIFIC : THE GREAT DRY DOCK 346 
{See also page 306.) 



The Author is indebted for some of the photographs reproduced in this book 
to The Mexican Financial Agency, Seitor Camacho ; The Mexican Information 
Bureau, Senor Barriga ; The Mexican Vera Cruz Railway Company, Ltd. ; Messrs, 
S. Pearson and Sons, Ltd.; The London Bank of Mexico and South America, Ltd. ; 
Arthur H. Enoch, Esq. ; " Modern Mexico " ; " Mexico at Chicago," Seitor Manuel 
Caballero ; Holmes : Ancient Cities of Mexico ; and others. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



HISTORY 

The history of Mexico at the time of the Conquest rests upon 
an accurate basis ; the five letters of Cortes to the Spanish Emperor, 
Carlos V. These have been recently retranslated into, and pub- 
lished in, English in two excellent volumes : 

The Letters of Cortes to Charles V. F. C. MacNutt. G. P. 
Putnam's Sons. London. 1908. 

The most famous book on the Conquest is that of Prescott, the 
American historian, and this never loses its charm, although to the 
traveller who knows the country it may, at times, seem somewhat 
highly drawn. 

Prescott's Conquest of Mexico. 3 vols. London. 1845, 

The writers which, after Cortes, were the participators in the 
Conquest or contemporary therewith, and upon whose writings 
all other accounts are based, are those of : 

Bernal Diaz, Author of the Verdadera Historia de la Conquista. 

1858. 
Ixtlilochitl, Aztec historian. 

Other famous contemporary writers whose works also furnish 
material for historians were : 

Bartolome de las Casas, Francisco Lopez de Gomara, Gonzalo 
Oviedo y Valdez, Bernardino de Sahagun, Motolinia, Peter 
Martyr, Antonio de Herrera. The works of all these writers 
are extant, principally in Spanish, and they were written in 
the sixteenth century. 

In the seventeenth century Juan de Torquemada wrote, and in 
the nineteenth numerous works appeared upon Mexico. Among 
these may be mentioned those of Manuel Orozco y Berra, Manuel 



xxii BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Icazbalceta Raminez, all modern Mexicans. Other authors, 
whether of historical or other books and at varying epochs, are : 

Clavigero, Duran, Tezozomoc, Camargo, Siguenza, Pizarro, 
Acosta, Gage, Lorenzana, Olarte, Vetancourt, Solis, Cavo, 
Landa, Robertson, Irving, Humboldt, Helps, Bancroft, 
Kingsborough. 

Archaeological and Ethnological works are represented by the 
following : 

Bancroft, Native Races of the Pacific States. 5 vols. New 

York. 1874-6. 
Bandolier, The Art of War among the Ancient Mexicans. 
„ Distribution and Land Tenure. 

„ Social Organisation. 

„ Archasological Tour. 

„ Indians of the South-west, U.S. 

Batres, Cuadro Arquelogico de la Republica Mexicana ; and 

other works, including Teotihuacan. 
Blake, Catalogue of Archsological Collection of the Museum 

of Mexico, &c. 
Brinton, The American Race. 

„ Ancient Phonetic Alphabets of Yucatan, &c. 
Chavers, Antigiiedades Mexicanas. 

„ Mexico a traves de los siglos. 
Charnay, Ancient Cities of the New World. 
Garcia Cubas, Cuadro Geografico, &c. 
Holmes, Archaeological Studies among the Ancient Cities of 

Mexico. 
Maudsley, Biologia Centralia-Americana. 
Kingsborough, famous work on Mexican Antiquities, &c. 
Peiiafiel, Monumentos del arte Mexicano Antiguo. Berlin. 1890. 
Payne, History of the New World. Oxford. 1899. 
Starr, Maya Writing, &c. Chicago. 1895. 

And many other pamphlets and books in English, Spanish, 

French, and German. 
For a fuller list of these, see the excellent volume on 
Mexico of the International Bureau of the American 
Republics. Washington. 1904. 

Of books on mining an excellent volume for reference is : 

Southworth's Mines of Mexico. 

Of mining and natural resources generally, a large complete 
work has been issued in English, Spanish, and French, entitled : 

El Florecimiento de Mexico. Mexico. 1906. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY xxiii 

This work is published in Mexico, written by various authors, 
under the patronage of the Government. It is a valuable book 
of reference, but somewhat prolix, and the type is small and the 
volume unwieldy. After the manner of books issued in Spanish- 
American countries, too much space is taken up with adulations of 
public men. There are no less than four full-page portraits of 
President Diaz in it. 

Other general works are : 

Mexico and the United States. Abbott. New York. 1869. 
Guia General de la Republicas Mexicana. Mexico. 1899. 
Barrett, Standard Guide to Mexico. Mexico. 1900. 
Baedeker, The United States and Mexico. Leipzig. 1899. 
Bancroft, A Popular History of the Mexican People. London. 

1887. 
Bancroft, Resources and Development of Mexico. San 

Francisco. 1893. 
Baianconi, Le Mexique. Paris. 1899. 
Brocklehurst, Mexico To-day. London. 1883. 
Chevalier, Le Mexique Ancien et Moderne. Paris. 1886. 
Congling, Mexico and the Mexicans. New York. 1883. 
Garcia, Mexico, &c. Mexico. 1893. 
Lummis, The Awakening of a Nation. New York. 1893. 
Ober, Travels in Mexico. Boston. 1884. 
Martin, Mexico of the Twentieth Century. London. 1908. 
Gadow, Travels in Southern Mexico. London. 1908. 
Tweedie, Mexico as I Saw It. London. 190 ? 
Tweedie. Porfirio Diaz. London. 1905. 
A. H. Noll. A Short History of Mexico. Chicago. 1903. 
Romero, Mexico and the United States. New York. 1898. 
Statesman's Year-book. London. 

Camp Fires on Desert and Lava. Hornaday. London. 1909. 

And numerous others in French, German, and EngHsh, 

including various guide-books and pamphlets, scientific 

and otherwise. 

The Mexican Year-book, London, 1908, is pubHshed by 

McCorquodale & Co. The work is written under the 

auspices of the Mexican Government. It is full of statistics 

and information, and forms a very useful work of reference. 
Modern Mexico, a monthly illustrated paper of high-class, 

issued in Mexico and St. Louis. 
The Mexican Herald, a daily paper published in English in 

Mexico, is an excellent journal of current events. 



INTRODUCTION 



" From what I have seen and heard concerning the 
similarity between this country and Spain, its fertility, its 
extent, its climate, and in many other features of it, it 
seemed to me that the most suitable name for this country 
would be New Spain, and thus, in the name of your 
Majesty, I have christened it. I humbly supplicate your 
Majesty to approve of this and order that it be so called." 
Thus wrote Hernan Cortes, the greatest natural leader 
of men since Julius Ciesar, to the sovereign whom he 
endowed, as he subsequently told him bitterly, with 
provinces more numerous than the cities he had inherited 
from his forefathers. From the first appearance of the 
Spaniards upon the vast elevated plateau upon which 
the Aztec empire stood the invaders were struck by its 
resemblance in climate and natural products to their 
European homeland. In his first letter to the Emperor 
Cortes wrote : " The sea coast is low, with many sand- 
hills. . . . The country beyond these sandhills is level 
with many fertile plains, in which are such beautiful 
river banks that in all Spain there can be found no 
better. These are as grateful to the view as they are 
productive in everything sown in them, and very orderly 
and well kept with roads and convenience for pasturing 
all sorts of cattle. There is every kind of game in this 
country, and animals and birds such as are familiar to us 
at home. ... So that there is no difference between this 
country and Spain as regards birds and animals. . . . 
According to our judgment it is credible that there is 
everything in this country which existed in that from 
whence Solomon is said to have brought the gold for 
the Temple." 

Here, for the first time, the Spanish explorers in their 



xxvi INTRODUCTION 

wanderings had come across an organised nation with an 
advanced civilisation and pohty of its own. The gentle 
savages they had encountered in the tropical islands and 
the mainland of the isthmus had offered little or no 
resistance to the white men or to their uncomprehended 
God. The little kinglets of Hispanola, of Cuba, and of 
Darien, divided, unsophisticated, and wonder-stricken, 
with their peoples bent their necks to the yoke and their 
backs to the lash almost without a struggle. Their moist 
tropical lands, near the coasts, were enervating, and no 
united organisation for defence against the enslaving 
intruders was possible to them. But here in the land 
of the Aztec federation three potent states, with vast 
dependencies from which countless hordes of warriors 
might be drawn, were ready to stand shoulder to shoulder 
and resist the claims of the white demi-gods, mounted on 
strange beasts, who came upon giant sea-birds from the 
unknown, beyond the waste of waters. But the fatal 
prophecy of the coming of the avenging white God 
Quetzalcoatl to destroy the Aztec power paralysed the 
arm and brain of Montezuma, and rendered him, and 
finally his people, a prey to the diplomacy, the daring, 
and the valour of Cortes, aided by the dissentient tribes 
he enlisted under his banner. 

The vast amphibious city of Tenochtitlan, when at 
length the Conquerors reached it, confirmed the impression 
that the land of which it was the capital was another 
wider and richer Spain. Its teeming markets, "one 
square twice as large as that of Salamanca, all surrounded 
by arcades, where there are daily more than sixty thousand 
souls buying and selling " ; the abundance of food and 
articles of advanced comfort and luxury, " the cherries 
and plums like those of Spain " ; the skeins of different 
kinds of spun silk in all colours, that might be from one 
of the markets of Granada"; "the porters such as in 
Castile do carry burdens " ; the great temple, of which 
" no human tongue is able to describe the greatness and 
beauty . . . the principal tower of which is higher than 
the great tower of Seville Cathedral " — all reminded 
Cortes of his native Spain. " I will only say of this city," 



INTRODUCTION xxvii 

he concludes, " that in the service and manners of its 
people their fashion of living is almost the same as in 
Spain, with just as much harmony and order ; and con- 
sidering that these people were barbarous, so cut off from 
the knowledge of God and of other civilised people, it is 
marvellous to see to what they have attained in every 
respect." Thus New Spain was marked out of all the 
dominions of Spanish Indies as that which was in closest 
relationship with the mother country. 

The conquest and subjection of New Spain syn- 
chronised curiously with the profound crisis in, and the 
conquest and domination of. Old Spain by its own king, 
a governing genius and leader of men almost as great 
as was the obscure Estramaduran squireling who was 
adding to the newly unified crown of Spain that which was 
to be its richest jewel in the West. When Cortes penned his 
first letter to the future Emperor and his mad mother in 
July, 15 19, telling them of the new found land, Spain was 
in the throes of a great convulsion. The young Flemish 
prince had been called to his great inheritance by the 
death of his grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic, and the 
incapacity of his Spanish mother, Queen Juana. Charles 
had come to the country upon which, in a financial sense, 
the burden of his future widespread empire was to depend, 
with little understanding of the proud and ardent people 
over whom he was to rule. He spoke no Spanish, and 
he was surrounded by greedy Flemish courtiers dressed 
in outlandish garb, speaking in a strange tongue, and 
looking upon the realm of their prince as a fat pasture 
upon which, locust like, they might batten with impunity. 
The Spaniards had frowned to see the great Cardinal 
Jimenez curtly dismissed by the boy sovereign whose 
crown he had saved ; they clamoured indignantly when 
the Flemings cast themselves upon the resources of 
Castile and claimed the best offices civil and ecclesias- 
tical ; they sternly insisted upon the young king taking 
a solemn oath that Spain in future should be for the 
Spaniards ; and when tardily and sulkily they voted 
supplies of money the grant was saddled with many 
irritating conditions. 



xxviii INTRODUCTION 

When the letter of Cortes arrived in Spain Charles was 
at close grips with his outraged people, for he had broken 
all his promises to them. Hurrying across the country 
to embark and claim the imperial crown of Germany, 
vacant by the death of his grandfather Maximilian, eager 
for the large sums of money he needed for his purpose, 
which Spain of all his realms alone could provide, the 
sovereign was trampling upon the dearly prized charters 
of his people. The great rising of the Castilian com- 
moners was finally crushed, thanks to class dissensions 
and the diplomacy of the sovereign. Thenceforward the 
revenues of Castile were at the mercy of the Emperor, 
whose needs for his world-wide responsibilities were 
insatiable ; and the Indies of the West, being the 
appanage of the crown of Castile, were drained to uphold 
the claim of Spain and its Emperor-King to dictate to 
Christendom the form and doctrines of its religious 
faith. It is no wonder, therefore, that the despatches 
of the obscure adventurer who announced to his 
sovereign that, in spite of obstacles thrown in his way 
by highly placed royal officials, he had conquered a 
vast civilised empire with a mere handful of followers, 
were received sympathetically by the potentate to 
whom the possession of fresh sources of revenue was 
so important. Cortes in his various letters again and 
again claims the Emperor's patronage of his bold 
defiance of the Emperor's officers on the ground that 
the latter in their action were moved solely by con- 
siderations of their personal gain, whereas he, Cortes, 
was striving to endow his sovereign with a rich new 
empire and boundless treasure whilst carrying into the 
dark pagan land, at the sword's point, the gentle creed 
of the Christian God. 

Of this religious element of his expedition Cortes never 
lost sight ; he was licentious in his life, unscrupulous in 
his methods, and regardless of the suffering he inflicted 
to attain his ends ; but in this he was only a son of his 
country and his time ; such qualities might, and in fact 
did, accompany the most devout personal piety and an 
exalted religious ideal. That the imposition of Christian 



INTRODUCTION xxix 

civilisation upon Mexico meant the sacrifice in cold 
blood of countless thousands of inoffensive human 
creatures was as nothing when once the legal forms had 
been complied with and the people could be assumed 
to be recalcitrant or rebellious to a decree of which they 
understood not a word. The awful holocaust of natives 
which followed the Spanish advance, the enslavement of 
a whole people to the demon of greed, especially after 
the withdrawal of Cortes from the scene, left a bitter crop 
of estrangement between the native Mexicans and their 
white masters, of which the rank remains have not even 
yet been quite eradicated. Cortes himself, as great in 
diplomacy as in war, it is true made himself rich beyond 
dreams, though he was defrauded of his deserts, even as 
Columbus, Balboa, and Pizarro were ; but he was not 
wantonly cruel, and in the circumstances in which he 
was placed it was difficult for him to have acted very 
differently from what he did. It was not until the 
smaller men displaced him and came to enrich them- 
selves at any cost that his methods were debased and 
degraded to vile ends and the policy itself was rendered 
hateful. 

Thus, whilst New Spain was always held to be nearer 
to the mother country than any other American lands 
and more of a white man's home than the settlements on 
the Southern Continent, the distrust engendered by the 
ruthless cruelty of the earlier years of the occupation 
contributed powerfully to retard any intimate intermix- 
ture of the conquerors and the conquered races, the 
closer connection with Spain also keeping the Spanish- 
Mexican decidedly more pure in blood than any other 
Spanish American people. This will account for the fact 
that the various Indian races of Mexico are still, to a 
large extent, distinct from each other and from the 
pure white Mexicans after nearly a century of native 
Republican government. In the State of Oaxaca alone 
there are even now at least fifteen perfectly distinguish- 
able separate tribes of pure Indians, of which two, the 
Zapotecas and the Mistecas, comprise more than half the 
whole population of the State. But, this notwithstand- 



XXX INTRODUCTION 

ing, no race question now really exists in Mexico. The 
pure-blooded Indians frequently occupy the highest 
positions in the State, as judges, soldiers, or savants, the 
greatest but one of Mexican Presidents, Juarez, having 
been a full-blooded Zapoteca, whilst the present ruler of 
Mexico, certainly one of the most exalted figures in 
American history. General Porfirio Diaz, is justifiably 
prouder of his Misteca descent than of the white ancestry 
he also claims. Nor, as in other countries of similar 
ethnological constitution, does the Indian population 
here tend to decrease. The Mexican Indian or half- 
breed suffers under no disability, social or political, and 
is in a decided majority of the population. The number 
of pure whites in the country is estimated at about three 
and a half millions, out of a probable nineteen millions 
of total inhabitants, eight millions being pure Indians 
and about seven and a half millions of mixed castes, most 
of whom are more brown than white. 

The future of the Republic, therefore, in an ethno- 
logical sense, is one of the most interesting problems of 
the American Continent. The old Spanish aristocratic 
aloofness traditional on the part of the pure whites will 
take many generations entirely to break down, and the 
increased communication between the Republic and the 
citizens of the United States will probably reinforce the 
white races with a new element of resistance to fusion ; 
but in the end a homogeneous brown race will probably 
people the whole of Mexico — a race, to judge from the 
specimens of the admixture now in existence, capable of 
the highest duties of civilisation, robust in body, patriotic 
in character, progressive and law-abiding to a greater 
extent, perhaps, than are purely Latin peoples. 

The present book relates in vivid and graphic words 
the history of Mexico during the time that it served as a 
milch cow to the insatiable Spanish kings and their 
satellites. But for the gold and silver that came in the 
fleet from New Spain, when, indeed, it was not captured 
by English or Dutch rovers, the gigantic imposition of 
Spanish power in Europe could not have been main- 
tained even as a pretence throughout the greater part of 



INTRODUCTION xxxi 

the seventeenth century as it was. For nearly three 
centuries one set of greedy Viceroys and high officials 
after another settled from the mother country upon unre- 
sisting Mexico and sucked its blood like vampires. Some 
of them, it is true, made attempts to palliate their rapacity 
by the introduction of improved methods of agriculture, 
mining, and the civilised arts, and Mexico, in close touch 
with Spain, was not allowed, as the neighbouring Spanish 
territory of the isthmus was, to sink into utter stagnation. 
The efforts of the Count of Tendilla to keep his Viceroyalty 
abreast of his times in the mid sixteenth century are still 
gratefully remembered, as is the name of his successor 
Velasco, who struck a stout blow for the freedom of the 
native Indians enslaved in the mines, and emancipated 
150,000 of them. But on the whole, especially after the 
establishment of the Inquisition in Mexico, the story of 
the Spanish domination is generally one of greed, oppres- 
sion, and injustice, alternating with periods of enlightened 
effort on the part of individual viceroys more high- 
minded than their fellows. 

With the early nineteenth century came the stirring of 
a people long crushed into impotence. The mother 
country was in the throes of a great war against the 
foreign invader. Deserted and abandoned by its Spanish 
sovereign, and ruled, where it was ruled at all by civilians, 
by a body of self-elected revolutionary doctrinaires, the 
colonists of the various Viceroyalties of America promptly 
shook themselves free from the nerveless grasp that had 
held them so long. A demand for an immense sum of 
money beyond that which had voluntarily been sent by 
Mexico to aid the mother country against Napoleon was 
refused in 1810, and a few months afterwards the long 
gathering storm burst. The man who first formulated 
the Mexican cry for freedom was a priest, one Miguel 
Hidalgo. He had already organised a widespread revo- 
lutionary propaganda, and on September 16, 1810, the 
Viceregal authorities precipitated matters by suppress- 
ing one of the clubs, at Queretaro, in which the indepen- 
dence of the country was advocated. Hidalgo at once 
called his followers to arms, and under the sacred banner 



xxxii INTRODUCTION 

of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, 
led some 50,000 ardent patriots through the country 
towards the capital that had once been Motezuma's. 
Subduing all the land he crossed, Hidalgo finally met the 
royal troops on the 30th of October and completely 
routed them. Then the rebel army gradually fell to 
pieces in consequence of unskilful management, and at a 
subsequent battle in January, 181 1, was entirely defeated, 
Hidalgo and his lieutenant being shortly afterwards 
captured and shot. 

But the fire thus lit could never again be entirely 
extinguished. For years the intermittent struggle went 
on under another priest, Morelos, a true national Mexican 
hero who was betrayed to the Spaniards in 1815, and 
punished first by the Inquisition as a heretic and after- 
wards shot as a traitor to the King of Spain. The sun of 
the Spanish domination of Mexico set in blood, for the 
wretched reactionary Ferdinand VII. was on the throne 
of the mother country, determined if he could to terrorise 
Spanish America into obedience as he had done Spain 
itself. His eagerness to do so defeated itself. A large 
army, collected at Cadiz for the purpose of crushing 
Mexico into obedience, revolted against the despot, and 
then the Mexican patriots, under Iturbide, practically 
dominated their country. The new Spanish Hibernian 
Viceroy, O'Dontroju, could but bend his head to the 
storm, and in September, 1821, signed a treaty with the 
insurgents by which Mexico was acknowledged to be an 
independent constitutional monarchy under the Spanish 
king, Ferdinand VII. 

Such a solution of a great national uprising could only 
be temporary. The Spanish Government refused to ratify 
the agreement arrived at for Mexico's independence, and 
a barrack pronouncement acclaimed Agustin Iturbide 
Emperor of Mexico in June, 1822. The empire of 
Iturbide lasted less than a year, for the man was un- 
worthy, and Mexican patriots had not fought and bled 
for ten years against one despotism for the purpose of 
handing themselves over to another. Iturbide was 
deposed and exiled, and on his return for the purpose 



INTRODUCTION xxxiii 

of raising his standard afresh in Mexico, in 1824 the 
ex-Emperor was shot as an enemy to the peace and 
tranquilHty of his country. 

The Repubhc of Mexico obtained the cordial sup- 
port of England and the United States, and when in 1825 
the last Spanish man-at-arms retired from the fortress of 
San Juan de Ulua, off Vera Cruz, all Spanish-Americans 
on the two continents were free to work out their own 
destiny. As was the case with the other Republics, 
inexperience in the science of government and attempts 
to force the pace of progress, condemned Mexico to fifty 
years of turbulence and alternating despotism and license. 
Ambitious soldiers strove with each other for the place of 
highest honour and profit. Texas, resenting the instability 
of Creole government, separated from the Mexican States 
after a devastating war. 

Amongst the higher classes of Mexicans the mon- 
archical tradition which had prompted the experiment 
of Iturbide's evanescent empire had not entirely died 
out, and in 1840 a leading Mexican statesman, Estrada, 
argued in an open letter that the republican form of 
government having failed to secure peace to the 
country, it would be advisable to establish a Mexican 
monarchy with a member of one of the old ruling 
houses of Europe at its head. But the stormy petrel 
of Mexican politics. General Saint Anna, pervaded the 
scene yet for many years more ; and in 1847 engaged 
in a disastrous war with the United States on the 
subject of the Texan boundary, in which California 
was lost to Mexico. In the meanwhile the suggestion 
that a monarchical experiment should be tried never 
died out; and when in i860 the country was a prey 
to civil war between the anti-clericals under the great 
Juarez and the Conservative elements, and the interest 
on the foreign debt was suspended, a pretext offered 
for the intervention of France, England, and Spain in 
the internal affairs of Mexico, supported by the Con- 
servative and monarchical parties in the country 
itself. 

The ill-starred ambition of Napoleon III. ended in 



xxxiv INTRODUCTION 

the sacrifice of a chivalrous and well-meaning prince, 
but it effected for Mexico what fifty years of internal 
strife had been unable to attain : it produced a soli- 
darity of Mexican national feeling which has since 
then welded the people into a stable and united 
nation, in no danger henceforward of falling a prey 
to foreign ambition or of lapsing into anarchy from 
its own dissensions. That this happy end has been 
attained has been due mainly to the genius of two 
men, the greatest of Mexico's sons, who have in 
succession appeared at the moment when the national 
crisis needed them. To Benito Juarez, the Zapoteca 
Indian, who held aloft the banner of Mexican inde- 
pendence against the power of Napoleon's empire, is 
due not alone the victory over the invaders but the 
firm establishment of a federal constitutional system. 
Juarez, a lawyer and a judge, insisted upon the law 
being supreme, and that ambitious generals should 
thenceforward be the servants and not the masters of 
the State. 

The great Juarez died in 1872, and for the last 
thirty-three years, with a break of one short interval 
only, Porfirio Diaz has been master of Mexico, a 
benevolent autocrat, an emperor in all but name, 
governing with a wise moderation which recognises 
that a country situated as Mexico is, and with a 
population as yet far from homogeneous or civilised 
in the European sense, must of necessity be led 
patiently and diplomatically along the road of progress. 
To reach the goal of material and moral elevation at 
which Diaz aims, stability of institutions and of 
directors is the first need ; and the President has been 
re-elected seven times by his fellow citizens because 
they, as well as he, can see that his brain and his 
hand must guide the mighty engine of advance that 
he has set in motion. 

The effects of this policy have already been pro- 
digious, and there is probably no country on earth 
that has made strides so gigantic as Mexico in the last 
thirty years. It is due mainly to the labours of Diaz 



INTRODUCTION xxxv 

that the national finance has been placed upon a firm 
and satisfactory basis ; to him are owing the extra- 
ordinary pubHc works which have completed the vast 
system of drainage of the Valley of Mexico, initiated 
nearly three centuries ago ; by him the Republic has 
been covered by a network of primary and secondary 
public schools rivalling those of the most advanced 
European countries. One of the most beneficent of 
the President's recent acts has been the rehabilitation 
in 1905 of the Mexican silver currency, by which a 
fairly stable standard exchange value is secured for the 
national coinage ; the silver dollar fluctuating now 
within very narrow limits, the normal value being one 
half of a United States dollar. 

The constructive work of this really great man, 
indeed, is as yet difficult to appraise. It covers nearly 
every branch of national activity, and it is only by 
comparison with a past state of affairs that anything 
like an adequate idea of the progress effected can be 
formed. In 1876 the population of the Republic was 
9,300,000 ; it is now about 19,000,000. The increase 
in the length of railways constructed in the same 
period is equally remarkable, rising from 367 miles in 
1876 to 15,000 miles in 1908. The railways hitherto 
have been mainly built by English and United States 
capitalists, and are in a great measure still managed 
by English-speaking officers ; but the important 
Transatlantic line, which connects the port of Coatza- 
coalcos on the Atlantic side with Salina Cruz on the 
Pacific, is a national undertaking carried out under 
contract by a great English contracting firm. The 
future of this Tehuantepec railway promises to be of 
the highest importance as connecting Europe and 
America with the Far East. The geographical situation 
of the line is more central than that of Panama, 
ensuring, for instance, a saving of nearly a thousand 
miles between Liverpool and Yokohama. The railway 
itself across the isthmus is under two hundred miles in 
length, and the ports on both sides are capacious 
enough to deal with the greatest ships afloat. 



xxxvi INTRODUCTION 

The railways running from the United States into 
the interior of Mexico and the capital convey passengers 
thither in less than five days from New York. They 
have naturally brought much Anglo-Saxon American 
influence into the country, and until recent years 
this would have offered some danger of the nation 
becoming an English-speaking land, as its former 
States, Texas and California, have done. The new 
national spirit and pride of race, which now justifiably 
stirs Mexicans, will in future make such an eventuality 
improbable. It is, indeed, much more likely that in 
the end the boundaries of a powerful, prosperous 
Mexico may extend to the group of small and 
slowly-developing Central American Republics that join 
it on the south, and that a vast Spanish-speaking 
confederacy will under an enlightened system of 
government ensure for all time the domination of 
this axis of the world's trade to the descendants of the 
original Conquerors whose blood has mingled with 
that of the peoples they subdued. This eventuality 
is rendered the more probable by the advance of the 
Pan-American Railway which is being pushed south- 
west from the Tehuantepec line towards Guatemala, 
and will when completed link North America with the 
southern continent, and establish a continuous system 
from New York to the Argentine Republic. This, 
.however, is a dream of the future : for the present be 
it said that a regenerated Mexico has saved Central and 
South America from being finally swamped by Anglo- 
Saxondom, and has ensured the perpetuation in " The 
Land of To-morrow " of the Spanish tongue and Latin 
traditions. For this relief much thanks. 

MARTIN HUME. 



MEXICO 

CHAPTER I 

A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 



Romance of history — Two entrance ways — Vera Cruz — Orizaba — The 
Great Plateau — Fortress of Ulua — Sierra Madre — Topographical 
structure — The Gulf coast — Tropical region — Birds, animals, and 
vegetation of coast zone — Tierra caliente — Malaria — Foothills — 
Romantic scenery — General configuration of Mexico — Climatic zones 
— Temperate zone — Cold zone — The Cordillera — Snow-capped peaks 
— Romance of mining — Devout miners — Subterranean shrines — The 
great deserts — Sunset on the Great Plateau — Coyotes and zopilotes — 
Irrigated plantations — Railways — Plateau of Anahuac — The cities of 
the mesa central — Spanish-American civilisation — Romance of 
Mexican life — Mexican girls, music, and moonlight — The pcones and 
civilisation — American comparisons — Pleasing traits of the Mexicans 
— The foreigner in Mexico — Picturesque mining-towns — Wealth of 
silver — Conditions of travel — Railways — Invasions — Lerdo's axiom — 
Roads and horsemen — Strong religious sentiment — Popocatepetl and 
Ixtaccihuatl — Sun-god of Teotihuacan — City of Mexico — Valley of 
Mexico — The Sierra Madre — Divortia aquarum of the continent — 
Volcano of Colima — Forests and ravines — Cuernavaca — The trail of 
Cortes — Acapulco — Romantic old haciendas — Tropic sunset — Unex- 
plored Guerrero — Perils and pleasures of the trail — Sunset in the 
Pacific Ocean. 

Mexico, that southern land lying stretched between the 
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, upon the tapering base of 
North America, is a country whose name is fraught 
with colour and meaning. The romance of its history 
envelops it in an atmosphere of adventure whose charm 
even the prosaic years of the twentieth century have not 
entirely dispelled, and the magnetism of the hidden 
wealth of its soil still invests it with some of the 
attraction it held for the old Conquistadores. It was in 

2 



2 MEXICO 

the memorable age of ocean chivalry when this land was 
first won for Western civilisation : that age when men put 
forth into a sunset-land of Conquest, whose every shore 
and mountain-pass concealed some El Dorado of their 
dreams. The Mexico of to-day is not less interesting, for 
its vast territory holds a wealth of historic lore and a 
profusion of natural riches. Beneath the Mexican sky, 
blue and serene, stretch great tablelands, tropic forests, 
scorching deserts, and fruitful valleys, crowned by the 
mineral-girt mountain ranges of the Sierra Madres; and 
among them lie the strange pyramids of the bygone 
Aztecs, and the rich silver mines where men of all races 
have enriched themselves. Mexico is part of that great 
Land of Opportunity which the Spanish-American world 
has retained for this century. 

There are two main travelled ways into Mexico. The 
first lies across the stormy waters of the Mexican Gulf to 
the yellow strand of Vera Cruz, beyond which the great 
" star-mountain " of the Aztecs, Citlaltepetl,^ rears its 
gleaming snow-cap in mid-heavens, above the clouds. 
It was here that Cortes landed, four centuries ago, 
and it is the route followed by the tide of European 
travellers to-day. Otherwise, the way lies across the 
Great Plateau, among the arid plains of the north, where, 
between the sparsely-scattered cities and plantations of 
civilised man, the fringe of Indian life is spread upon the 
desert, and the shadowy forms of the coyote and the 
cactus blend into the characteristic landscape. Both 
ways are replete with interest, but that of Vera Cruz is 
the more varied and characteristic. Here stands Ulua, the 
promontory-fortress, where more than one of Mexico's 
short-lived rulers languished and died of yellow fever, 
and which was the last stronghold of Spain. Beyond 
it arise the white buildings and towers of Vera Cruz, 
a dream-city, as beheld from the Gulf, of interest 
and beauty ; and to the west, are the broad coastal 
deserts, bounded by the foothills and tropic valleys of 
the tierra caliente of the littoral. Piled up to the horizon 
' Orizaba, 18,250 feet altitude. 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 3 

are the wooded slopes and canyons of the great Sierra 
Madre, topped by the gleaming Orizaba, towering 
upwards in solitary majesty. We stand upon a torrid 
strand, yet gaze upon an icy mountain. 

A country of singular topographic structure is before 
us. The Mexican Cordillera conceals, beyond and above 
it, the famous Great Plateau ; the mesa central, running to 
the northwards eight hundred miles or more, and reaching 
westwardly to the steep escarpments of the Pacific slope. 
These plutonic and volcanic ranges encircle and bisect 
the great tableland, and enclose the famous Valley of 
Mexico and its beautiful capital, lying far beyond the 
horizon, above the clouds which rest upon the canyons 
and terraces of that steep-rising country to the west. Our 
journey lies upwards to this Great Plateau of Anahuac 
over the intervening plains and mountain range. 

It is a tropical region of foliage, flowers, and fruits, 
of rugged countryside and rushing streams, this eastern 
slope of Mexico ; and the blue sky and flashing sun 
form the ambient of a perpetual summer-land. We 
traverse the sandy Tertiary deserts of the coast, and 
thence enter among groves of profuse natural vegetation, 
interspersed with cultivated plantations. In these the 
gleam of yellow oranges comes from among the foliage, 
and the graceful leaves of the platanos and rubber-trees 
fan their protecting shade over young coffee-trees. But 
away from the haunts of man along the littoral is a 
region of startling beauty — of rivers and lagoons and 
hills, their shores and slopes garmented with perennial 
verdure, the forest-seas bathing the bases of towering 
peaks. Beautiful birds of variegated and rainbow 
colours, such as Mexico is famous for, people these 
tropic southern lands of Vera Cruz. Along the shores 
and in the woods and groves, all teeming with prolific 
life, which the hot sun and frequent rains induce, the 
giant cranes and brilliant-plumaged herons disport 
themselves, and gorgeous butterflies almost outshine the 
feathered denizens. From the tangled boughs the 
pendant boa-constrictor coils himself, and hissing 



4 MEXICO 

serpents, basking crocodiles, and prowling jaguars people 
the untrodden wilds of jungle and lagoon. In these 
great virgin forests tribes of monkeys find their home, 
and the tapir and the cougar have their being. Man- 
groves, palms, rubber-trees, mahogany, strange flora, and 
ungathered fruits run riot amid this tropical profusion, 
and flourish and fall almost unseen of man. And here 
the malarias of the lowlands lurk — those bilious dis- 
orders which man is ever fighting and slowly conquering. 
This is Mexico's tierra caliente. 

But our way lies onwards towards the mountains. 
A wildness of landscape, unpictured before, opens 
to the view. Here rise weird rock-forms. Nature's 
cathedral towers and grim fafades magnificent in 
solitude and awe-inspiring, as by steep bridle-paths we 
take our way along the valleys, and draw rein to gaze 
upon them. Ponderous and sterile, these outworks 
and buttresses of the great Sierra Madre rise upwards, 
fortifications reared against the march of tropic verdure 
beneath, cloud-swathed above and bathed below by 
forest-seas. Born in that high environment of rains 
and snows, rippling streams descend, falling in cascades 
and babbling rapids adown romantic glens, and their 
life-giving waters, with boisterous ripple or murmuring 
softly, take their way over silver sand-bar and polished 
ledge of gleaming quartz or marble, winding thence 
amid corridors of stately trees and banks of verdant 
vegetation, to where they fill the irrigation-channels of 
white-clad peasants, far away on the plains below. 

Still onwards and upwards lies the way. One of the 
most remarkable railways in the world ascends this steep 
zone, and serpentines among sheer descents to gain the 
summits of abrupt escarpments, from which — a remark- 
able feature of the topography of the eastern slope of 
Mexico — the traveller looks down as into another country 
and climate, upon those tropical valleys which he has left 
below. This is the Mexican Vera Cruz railway. 

Let us pause a moment and gain a comprehensive idea 
of the character of Mexico's configuration and climate. 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 5 

It is to be recollected that Mexico, like other lands 
of Western America, is a country of relatively recent 
geological birth. The form of the country is remarkable. 
It shares the topographical features of others of the 
Andine countries of America — of tropical lowlands and 
temperate uplands, in which latter nearness to the heat 
of the Equator is offset by the coolness of the rarefied 
air of high elevations above sea-level. This structure is 
the dominant note of the scheme of Nature in Mexico — 
as it is in Peru and other similar countries — and the 
anthropo -geographical conditions are correspondingly 
marked. The region first passed is known as the 
tierra caliente, or hot lands. Its climatic limit extends 
up the slopes of the Sierras to an elevation of some 
3,000 feet or more, embracing the lowlands, hot and 
humid generally, of the whole of the Gulf coast and of 
the peninsula of Yucatan, all of which regions are sub- 
ject to true tropical conditions — the dense forests, the 
great profusion of animal life, the wonderful abundance 
and colour of Nature, and in places the swamps and their 
accompanying malarias, shunned by the traveller. But 
yellow fever and malaria are much less dreaded now than 
heretofore. In the city of Vera Cruz and in Tampico 
the new era of sanitation, brought about by British and 
American example and seconded by the Mexican authori- 
ties, has almost banished these natural scourges. 

Rising from the tierra caliente, the road enters upon 
the more temperate zone, the tierra teniplada, extending 
upwards towards the Great Plateau. The limit of this 
climatic zone is at the elevation of 6,000 feet above sea- 
level, and here are evergreen oaks, pine, and the extra- 
ordinary forms of the organ cactus, as well as orchids. 
It is, indeed, a transition zone from the hot to the cold 
climates, and the zone embraces the greater part of the 
area of Mexico. Rising rapidly thence up to and over 
the escarpments of the Sierra Madre and the high plains, 
we shall enter upon the tierra fria or cold lands, ranging 
from 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet above sea level. Above this 
rise the high summits of the Mexican Cordilleras, with 



6 MEXICO 

their culminating peaks, some few of which penetrate 
the atmosphere above the 4imit of perpetual snow. Thus, 
three diverse climatic zones are encountered in Mexico, 
which, ever since the advent, of the Spaniards, have been 
designated as the tierra fria, tierra templada, and tierra 
caliente respectively. These conditions, as will be seen 
later, are also encountered upon the Pacific slope. 

We now ascend the steep upper zone of the Sierra 
Madre, and cross it, descending thence to the Great 
Plateau or mesa central, the dominating topographical 
feature of the country. Here lies the real Mexico of 
history, and here is the main theatre of the new land of 
industrial awakening. Within the mountain ranges — 
that which we have crossed, and those which intersect 
this vast tableland and bound it on three sides — lies the 
great wealth of minerals — gold, silver, and others — which 
have attracted men of all races and all times since Cortes 
came. Here the true fairy tales of long ago, of millions 
won by stroke of pick, had their setting, and indeed, have 
it still. Upon these hills the thankful miner reared 
temples to his saints, and blessed, in altar and crucifix, 
the mother of God who graciously permitted his enrich- 
ment ! And as if such devotion were to be unstinted, he 
also places his shrines within the bowels of the mines, 
and pauses as he struggles through the dark galleries, with 
heavy pack of silver rock upon his back, to bend his knee 
a moment before the candle-lighted subterranean altar. 

And now great desert plains unfold to view. Upon 
their confines arise the blue mountain ranges which 
intersect them, their canyons and slopes, though faint in 
distance and blurred by shimmering heat arising from 
the desert floor, yet cast into distinct tracery by the rays 
of the sun. Towards the azure vault overhead, as we 
behold the arid landscape, eddying dust-pillars whirl 
skywards upon the horizon, or perhaps a cloud of dust, 
far away upon the trail which winds over the flat expanse, 
denotes some evidence of man — horseman or ox-cart 
pursuing its leisurely and monotonous way. Upon the 
edges of the dry stream-beds, or arroyos, which descend 



< 




A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 7 

from the hills and lose themselves in wide alluvial fans 
upon the sandy waste, a fringe of scant vegetation 
appears, nourished by the water which flows down them 
in time of rain. 

Beneath our horses' hoofs the white alkali crust which 
thinly covers the desert floor, crumbles and breaks. 
Gaunt cacti stretch their skinny branches across the trail, 
which winds among foothills and ravines, and the horned 
toads and the lizards, the only visible beings of the 
animal world here, play in and out of their labyrinths 
as we pass. We are upon the Great Plateau. All is vast, 
reposeful, boundless. The sun rises and sets as it does 
upon some calm ocean, describing its glowing arc across 
the cloudless vault above, from Orient to Occident. 
Sun-scorched by day, the temperature drops rapidly as 
night falls upon these elevated steppes, 7,000 feet or more 
above the level of the sea, and the bitter cold of the 
rarefied air before the dawn takes possession of the 
atmosphere. The shivering pcones of the villages rise 
betimes to catch the sun's first rays, and stand or squat 
against the eastern side of their adobe huts, what time 
the orb of day shows his red disc above the far horizon. 
La capa de los pobres — "the poor man's cloak" — they 
term the sun, as with grateful benediction they watch his 
coming, and stamp their sandalled feet. 

Impressive and melancholy is the nightfall upon the 
Great Plateau. The opalescent tints of the dying day, and 
the scarlet curtains flung across the Occident at the sun's 
exit give place to that indescribable depth of purple of 
the high upland's sky. The faint ranges of hills which 
bound the distant horizon take on those diminishing 
shades which their respective distances assign them, 
and stand delicately, ethereally, against the waning 
colours of the sunset, whilst the foreground rocks are 
silhouetted violet-black against the desert floor. The 
long shadows which were projected across the wilderness, 
and the roseate flush which the setting sun had cast 
upon the westward-facing escarpments behind us, have 
both disappeared together. Impenetrable gloom lurks 



8 MEXICO 

beneath the faces of the cliffs, the mournful howl of the 
coyotes comes across the plain, and their slinking forms 
emerge from the shadow of the rocks. There is a shape- 
less heap, the carcass of some dead mule or ox, some 
jetsam of the desert, lying near at hand, at which my 
horse was uneasy as I drew rein in contemplation, 
and which explains the nearness of the beasts of prey, 
and the long line of zopilotes, or buzzards, which I had 
observed to cross the fading gleam of the firmament. 
All is solitary, deserted, peaceful. The day is done, the 
night has come, "in which no man can work." 

At daylight the uncultivated desert gives place to 
human habitations ; and we approach the hacienda of 
a large landowner, with its irrigated plantations, and 
adobe buildings which form the abodes of the workers. 
All around are vast fields of maguey, or plantations 
of cotton, stretching as far as can be seen. Great 
herds of cattle, rounded up by picturesque vaqueros with 
silver-garnished saddles and strange hats and whirling 
lassoes, paw the dusty ground, shortly to writhe 
beneath the hot imprint of the branding-iron. Long 
irrigation ditches, brimming with water from some 
distant river, and fringed with trees, wind away among 
the plantations ; and white-clad peones, hoe in hand, 
tend the long furrows whose parallel lines are lost in 
perspective. Centre of the whole panorama is the 
dwelling-house of the hacendado, the owner of the lands; 
and almost of the bodies and souls of the inhabitants ! 
Quaint and old-world, the place and its atmosphere trans- 
port the imagination to past centuries, for the aspect of 
the whole still bears the stamp of its mediaeval beginning, 
save where the new Mexican millionaire-landowner has 
planted some luxurious abode, replete with modern 
convenience. 

But these are not isolated from the world upon this 
Great Plateau so much as might appear at first glance. 
There is a puff of smoke upon the horizon, and the 
whistle of a locomotive strikes upon the ear. The rail- 
way which links this great oasis of cultivated fields with 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 9 

others similar, and with the world beyond, runs near at 
hand, and will bear us, do we wish it, away to the con- 
fines of the Republic in the north, to the United States, 
and in five days to New York. Southwards it winds 
away to the great capital City of Mexico, to Vera Cruz, 
and thence on towards the borders of Guatemala. 
But let us avoid the railway yet. Not thus, in the 
comfort of the Pullman cushions, do we know the 
spirit and atmosphere of Mexico ; but the saddle and the 
dusty road shall be our self-chosen portion. Indeed, it 
will be so from sheer necessity, for our way will lie on- 
wards to the Pacific Ocean, and no railway of the 
plateau quite reaches this yet. 

Throughout the Great Plateau of Anahuac, separated by 
long stretches of dusty wilderness, unclothed except by 
scanty thorny shrubs, and scarcely inhabited except by 
the coyote and the tecolote,^ are handsome cities with their 
surrounding cultivation and characteristic life. As we 
top the summit of a range and behold these centres of 
population from afar, a bird's-eye view and philosophical 
comprehension of their ensemble is obtained. Seen 
from the outside, they present a picturesque view of 
cathedral spires and gleaming domes and white walls ; 
the towers rising from the lesser buildings amid groves of 
verdant trees, forming a striking group, all backed 
by the blue range of some distant sierra. The main 
group shades off into a fringe of jacales — the squalid 
habitations of the peones, and of the city's poor and 
outcast, with rambling, dusty roads bordered by hedges 
of prickly pear, or nopales ; picturesque, quaint, the roads 
ankle-deep in white adobe dust, which rises from beneath 
our horse's hoofs and covers us with an impalpable flour 
upon traversing the environs of the place. Clattering 
over the cobble-paved streets, we rapidly approach the 
central pulse of the town, the plaza. Singular shops, 
where fruits and meats and clothing are displayed in win- 
dowless array, line the streets, and quaint dwelling-houses, 
with iron grilles covering their windows, giving them 
' Mexican night owl. 



10 MEXICO 

the mediaeval Hispanic aspect familiar to the Spanish- 
American traveller. Into these we gaze down from the 
height of the saddle in passing, and perchance some 
dark-haired Mexican damsel, who has been snatching a 
moment from her household duties to gaze at the outside 
world, retires suddenly from the balcony with well-simu- 
lated haste and modesty before the rude gaze of the 
approaching stranger. Indians or peones in loose white 
garments of cotton manta,vjith huge Mexican straw hats, 
and scarlet blankets depending from their shoulders, stalk 
through the street, or issue from ill-smelling pulque shops, 
whose singularly-painted exteriors arrest the attention. 
Gaunt dogs prowl about and lap the water of the open 
acequias, or ditch-gutters, between the road and the foot- 
path, fighting for some stray morsel thrown into the street 
from the open doors of the shops aforesaid. Of stone or 
of adobe — generally the latter — according to the geology 
of the particular neighbourhood, the houses are whitened 
or tinted outside, with flat roofs, or azoteas. Through the 
wide entrance-door a glimpse is obtained of an interior 
paved patio, adorned, in the better-class homes, with tubs 
of palms and flowers ; and before one of such a character 
we draw rein — the meson or fonda, the hotel under 
whose roof temporary shelter shall be sought. This abode 
faces the plaza, and opposite rises the quaint church — or 
cathedral if it be a State capital city — which is the domi- 
nating note of the community. 

Exceedingly picturesque are the fine cities which form 
Mexico's chief centres of civilisation along the Great 
Plateau — Chihuahua, Durango, Guadalajara, Puebla, and 
many others. They have that quaint, old-world air 
ever characteristic of Spanish-America, unspoilt by the 
elements of manufacturing communities. Their shady 
plazas are centres of recreation and social life, always in 
evidence, distinctive of Spanish-American civilisation, 
where music is a part of the government of the people; 
a feature far more prominent than in Britain or 
the United States. The cathedrals, the quaint archi- 
tecture of the streets, the barred windows, and the pic- 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 11 

turesque dress of the working class, form an atmosphere 
of distinctive Hfe and colour. Let us halt a moment in 
the plaza. The band is discoursing soft music, varied by 
some stirring martial air ; the Mexican moon has risen, 
and now that the sunset colours pale, vies with the lamps 
of the well-lit promenade to illumine a happy but simple 
scene. Its rays shine through the feathery boughs of 
the palms, and glisten on the broad, elegant leaves of the 
platanos — which grow even in the upland valleys — whilst 
the scent of orange-blossoms falls softly through the 
balmy air, as in ceaseless promenade fair maidens 
and chatting youths, with coquetry and stolen glance, 
pass round the square untiringly. White dresses and 
black eyes and raven tresses — the olive-complexioned 
beauties of the Mexican uplands take their fill of passing 
joy. The moment is sweet, peaceful, even romantic ; 
let us dally a moment, nor chafe our cold northern 
blood for more energetic scenes. Do we ask bright 
glances ? Here are such. Shall we refuse to be their 
recipient ? And moonlight, palms, and music, and 
evening breeze, and convent tolling bell, and happy crowd 
— no, it is not a scene from some dream of opera, but 
a phase of every-day life in Mexico. 

In many respects it is an atmosphere of charm and 
interest which the traveller encounters in Mexican life, 
especially if he has recently arrived from among the 
prosaic surroundings of Mexico's great northern neigh- 
bour, the United States. Indeed, the transition from the 
busy Anglo-Saxon world which hurries and bustles in 
strenuous life northward from the Rio Grande, to that 
pastoral and primitive land of Spanish-America is as 
marked as that between Britain and the Orient. Yet it 
is only divided by a shallow stream — the Rio Grande. 
As the traveller crosses this boundary he leaves behind 
him the twentieth century, and goes back in time some 
hundreds of years — a change, it may be said en passant, 
which is not without benefit, and attractive in some 
respect. The brusque and selfish American atmosphere 
is left behind, the patience and courtesy of Mexico is 



12 MEXICO 

felt. The aggressive struggle for life gives place to the 
recollection that to acquire wealth is not necessarily the 
only business of all men and all nations ; for the patient 
peon lives in happiness without it. You may scorn him, 
but he is one of Nature's object-lessons. 

Singularly un-American — that is if United States and 
Canadian manners and customs shall be considered 
typical of America — are the customs of the Mexican. 
The influence and romance of the long years of Spanish 
domination and character have been crystallised upon 
the Mexican soil. The mien and character of the race 
created here in New Spain is marked for all time as 
a distinctive type, which may possess more for the 
future than the votary of Anglo-Saxon civilisation and 
strenuous commercialism may yet suspect. Whatever 
critical comparison may be applied to these people, the 
foreigner will acknowledge the pleasing trait of courtesy 
they invariably show. The elegance and grace of Spanish 
manners, wafted across the Atlantic in the days of ocean 
chivalry, were budded to the gentle courtesy of the native ; 
and the brusque Anglo-Saxon is alm.ost ashamed of his 
seeming or intended brusqueness before the graceful 
salutation of the poorest peo^^. Hat in hand, and with 
courteous or devout wish for your welfare on his lips, the 
poor Mexican seems almost a reproach to the harbinger 
of an outside world which seemingly grows more hard 
and commercial as time goes on. 

The picturesque and the simple are, of course, bought 
at the expense, too often, of hygiene and comfort, and 
Mexico does not escape this present law. Yet it is 
remarkable how soon the Briton or the American in 
Mexico adapts himself to his surroundings, and grows to 
regard them with affection. It is true that the govern- 
ment of the country is practically a military despotism, 
yet the foreigner is respected, and none interfere with 
him. On the contrary, he is often looked up to as a 
representative of a superior State, and if he be worthy he 
acquires some of the demeanour of vace-noblesse oblige. 

There are cities set on steep hill-sides, which we shall 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 13 

enter. Terrace after terrace climb the rocky ribs of arid 
hills. Houses, interspersed with gardens ; communities 
backed by the soft outlines of distant ranges, seen 
adown the widening valley ; and walls, houses, streets, 
people, landscape ; all are of that distinctive colour and 
character of the Mexican upland, over-arched by the 
cloudless azure of its sky. Clustered upon these same 
steep mineral-bearing hills — and, indeed, they are the 
raison d'etre of the town at all in that spot — are the great 
mining places, ancient and modern, which form so 
important a feature of the life of the country on the 
Great Plateau. 

Fabulous wealth of silver has been dug from these 
everlasting hills. Grim and abandoned mine-mouths, 
far away like black dots upon the slopes, and strange 
honeycombed galleries and caverns far beneath the 
outcropping of the lodes, have vomited rich silver ore 
for centuries : and the clang of miners' steel and the 
dropping candle are now, as ever, the accompaniment of 
labour of these hardy peones. The very church, perhaps, 
is redolent of mining, and was raised by some pious 
delver in the bowels of the hill whereon it stands — a 
thank-offering for some great luck of open sesame which 
his saints afforded him. 

But we will not linger here ; Guanajuato and Zacatecas 
and Pachuca shall be our theme in another chapter, and 
the tale of toil and silver which they tell. For the 
moment the way lies down the Great Plateau, among its 
intersecting ranges of hills, through the fertile valleys, 
which alternate with the appalling sun-beat deserts. 

The conditions of travel in this great land of Mexico 
— it is nearly two thousand miles in length — are, per- 
haps, less arduous than in Spanish-American countries 
generally. Mexico has lent itself well to the building 
of railways in a longitudinal direction, upon the line of 
least resistance from north-west to south-east, paralleling 
its general Andine structure. Several great trunk lines 
thus connect the capital City of Mexico and the southern 
part of the republic with the civilisation of the United 



14 MEXICO 

States, over this relatively easy route. Yet the earliest 
railway of Mexico, that from Vera Cruz to the City of 
Mexico, traverses the country in the most difficult direc- 
tion, transversely, rising from tide-water and the Atlantic 
littoral, and ascending the steep escarpments of the 
Eastern Sierra Madre to fall down into the lake-valley of 
Mexico, bringing outside civilisation to that isolated 
nterior world. But Mexico's singular topographical posi- 
tion did not secure her from invasion. Three times the 
city on the lakes has fallen to foreign invaders — the 
Spaniards of the Conquest, the French of Napoleon, 
and the Americans of the United States. Indeed, the flat 
and arid tableland stretching away for such interminable 
distances to the north was formerly a more potent 
natural defence than the Cordilleran heights which front 
on the Atlantic seas ; and the axiom of Lerdo is well 
brought to mind in considering the geographical 
environment : " Between weakness and strength — the 
desert ! " 

But away from the railways, and the roads where 
diligencias ply their lumbering and dusty course, the 
saddle is the only, and indeed the most characteristic, 
mode of travel ; and the arriero and his string of pack- 
mules is the common carrier, and the mountain road or 
dusty desert trail the means of communication from 
place to place. Along these the horseman follows, day 
after day, his hard but interesting road, for to the lover 
of Nature and incident the saddle ever brings matter of 
interest unattainable by other means of locomotion. 
The glorious morning air, the unfolding panorama of 
landscape — even the desert and the far-off mountain 
spur which he must round ere evening falls, are sources, 
of exhilaration and interest. The simple people and 
their quaint dwellings, where in acute struggle for life 
with Nature they wrest a living from rocks and thorns 
— are these not subjects, even, worthy of some passing 
philosophical thought ? Not a hilltop in the vicinity 
of any human habitations — be they but the wretched 
jacales or wattle-huts of the poorest peasants — but is 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 15 

surmounted by a cross : not a spring or well but is 
adorned with flowers in honour of that patron saint 
whose name it bears ; and not a field or hamlet or mine 
but has some religious nomenclature or attribute. For 
the Mexicans are a race into which the religion of the 
Conquistadores penetrated indelibly, whose hold upon 
them time scarcely unlooses. The creeds of the priests, 
moreover, are interwoven with the remains of Aztec 
theistic influence, and the superstitions of both systems 
hold the ignorant peasantry of Mexico in enduring thrall. 
Much of beauty and pathetic quaintness there is in this 
strong religious sentiment, which no thinking observer 
will deride ; much of retrograde ignorance, which he will 
lament to see. 

The Great Plateau tapers away towards the south, 
terminating in the Valley of Mexico, bounded by 
the snowy Cordillera of Anahuac. Within this range 
are two great volcanic uplifts, two beautiful mountain 
peaks, crowned with perpetual snow — the culminating 
orographical features of the Sierras, and the highest points 
in Mexico. The loftiest of these is Popocatepetl, "the 
smoking mountain," and its companion is Ixtaccihuatl, 
the "sleeping woman," both of poetical Indian nomen- 
clature. These beautiful solitary uplifts rise far above 
the canyons and forests at their bases : penetrate 
the clouds which sometimes wreath them, terminating 
in a porcelain-gleaming summit of perpetual snow. The 
mid-day sun flashes upon them, rendering them visible 
from afar, and its declining rays paint them with that 
carmine glow known to the Andine and Alpine traveller, 
which arrests his vision as evening falls. So fell, indeed, 
the morning rays of the orb of day upon the burnished 
golden breastplates of the image set on the sacred 
pyramid of Teotihuacan : the sun-god, Tonatiuah, as in 
the shadowy Toltec days he faced the flashing east. 

Prehistoric fact and fable press hard upon us as we 
approach the famous Valley of Mexico and its fine capital. 
This is the region where that singular " stone age " 
flourished, of pyramid-building and stone-shaping 



16 MEXICO 

peoples. Here both geology and history have written 
their pages, as if Nature and Fate had conspired 
together to mark epochs of time and space in ancient 
temple, dead revolution, and slumbering volcano. 
And now below us lies the City of Mexico. From the 
wooded uplands and hill-summits — redolent of pine and 
exhilarating with the tonic air — which form the rim of 
the valley, the panorama of the capital and its environs 
lies open to the view. Plains crossed by white streaks 
of far-off roads, intersecting the chequered fields of green 
alfalfa and yellow maize ; haciendas and villages em- 
bowered in luxuriant foliage ; the gleam of domes and 
towers, softened in the glamour of distance and bathed 
by a reposeful atmosphere and mediaeval tints — such is 
Mexico, this fair city of the West. 

The City of Mexico, like most centres of human habita- 
tion in whatever part of the world, is most beautiful 
when seen from afar, and in conjunction with Nature's 
environment. But the old Aztec city, the dark, romantic 
seat of the viceroys, the theatre of revolutionary struggle, 
and the modern centre of this important Mexican civilisa- 
tion, is a really handsome and attractive city. Indeed, 
the capitals of many Spanish-American republics, and 
their civilisation and social regime, are often in the nature 
of a revelation to the traveller from Europe or the United 
States, who has generally pictured a far more primitive 
State. With its handsome institutions and pubhc build- 
ings, and extensive boulevards and parks, and character- 
istic social, literary, and commercial life, the City of 
Mexico may be described as Americo-Parisian, and 
it is rapidly becoming a centre of attraction for 
United States tourists, who, avid of historical and 
foreign colour, descend thither in Pullman-car loads from 
the north. The city lies some three miles from the shore 
of Lake Texcoco, which, with that of Chalco and others, 
forms a group of salt- and fresh-water lagoons in the 
strange Valley of Mexico. At the time of the Conquest the 
city stood upon an island, connected with the mainland by 
the remarkable stone causeways upon which the struggles 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 17 

between the Spaniards and the Aztecs took place, during 
the siege of the city at the time of the Conquest. But 
these lakes, after the manner of other bodies of water, 
generally, in the high elevations of the American 
Cordilleras — Titicaca, in Peru, to wit — are gradually 
perishing by evaporation, their waters diminishing cen- 
tury by century. The Valley of Mexico, however, of 
recent years has received an artificial hydrographic outlet 
in the famous drainage canal and tunnel, which conducts 
the overflow into a tributary of the Panuco river, and so 
to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The Valley of Mexico is surrounded by volcanic hills, 
forming a more recent formation of the Andine folds, of 
which the Sierra Madres compose the Mexican Cordilleras. 
We have now to cross this, for our faces are set towards 
the Pacific Ocean. We ascend and pass the Western 
Sierra Madre, the divortia aqiiarum of the Pacific water- 
shed, leaving the intra-montane plateau of Anahuac and 
the mesa central behind us. Again the climate changes 
as the downward journey is begun, and again the 
tierra calienie is approached. The culminating peaks — 
the beautiful Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl — sink now 
below the eastern horizon, but as we journey to the west 
Colima's smoking cone will rise before the view. The 
descent from the highlands to the west coast is even 
more rapid than to the east, and the temperate 
climate of the valleys, and the bitter cold of the early 
morning on the uplands, soon give place to tropical 
conditions. Extensive forests of oak and pine, clothing 
the sides of the canyons and barrancas of the high Sierra 
Madre, are succeeded by the profuse vegetation of the 
torrid zone. Down in the soft regions of the west, where 
tropical agriculture yields its plentiful and easily-won 
harvests, are romantic old haciendas and villages hidden 
away in the folds of the landscape, such as are a delight 
to the traveller and the lover of the picturesque. The 
"happy valley" of Cuernavaca is reached by railway 
from the capital, but beyond this the road to the sea- 
board is still that ancient trail which Cortes used, which 

3 



18 MEXICO 

descends to Acapulco, for the railway builders have not 
yet completed their works to the Pacific waters. 

Away from the main route of travel lie sequestered old 
sugar estates, and villages of romantic and picturesque 
charm, yet untouched by speculator or capitalist. Antique 
piles of stone buildings are there, redolent of that peculiar 
poetry of the pastoral life of Mexico in the tropics. The 
old Spaniards built well ; their solid masonry defies the 
centuries ; and their most prosaic structures were invested 
with an architectural charm which the rapid money-seeker 
of to-day cares little for, in his corrugated iron and tem- 
porary materialism. Near to the arches, columns, and 
turrets of the old haciendas the garden lies, replete with 
strange fruits and flowers. The gleam of oranges and 
limes comes from the tangled groves ; grapes and pome- 
granates vie with each other in unattended profusion. 
The iguana sports among the old stone walls of the great 
garden, and humming-birds and butterflies hover in the 
subtle atmosphere. The tropic sunset throws a peaceful 
glamour and serenity over all. The cocoanut palms, with 
feathery grace above and slender column upward rearing, 
stir not against their ethereal setting as we watch, and the 
passing water in the old aqueduct scarce breaks the tropic 
silence, or if, perchance, it whisper, murmurs of centuries 
past, a low refrain. 

But we shall journey away from the haunts of man again, 
and penetrate the deep dark barrancas and little-known 
mountain-fastnesses of the western slope of the State 
of Guerrero. Here are great uninhabited and unexplored 
stretches of country, rugged and wild, replete with 
matters of interest, whether for hunter, sportsman, or 
archaeologist. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a 
region offering so varied a nature of resource and 
interest in any part of the world, except possibly in 
the still less accessible wilds of the Amazonian slopes 
of the Peruvian Andes. The botanist will find on 
this Pacific side of Mexico an unstudied flora, and the 
ethnologist and the antiquarian a number of native 
races, speaking strange separate languages ; and the 




TYPICAL VILLAGE OF THE PACIFIC COAST ZONE : STATE OF COLIMA. 

{To facet. i8. 



A FIRST RECONNAISSANCE 19 

ruins of thousands of the habitations of prehistoric 
man. The cHmate in these rugged regions ranges 
from the heat of the fierce tropical sun to the bitter 
cold of the mountain summits. Abundant basques or 
forests of oak cover the higher regions, and the wild 
and broken nature of the country renders it difficult 
to traverse, and calls for the adventurous spirit of the 
pioneer and explorer, without which the traveller will 
but meet with discomfort and danger. 

Yet the true traveller finds pleasure in these matters. 
The impressive grandeur of the mountain landscape, 
the endless forests, the profound ravines do but serve 
to divert his mind from the peril and discomfort of 
the trail. Here he may revel in Nature's untamed 
handiwork of mountain, forest, and flood, as day after 
day he journeys onward in the saddle towards the 
Pacific Ocean. Here are the imposing barrancas of 
Jalisco which he traverses, and marks how they are 
buried in the profuse vegetation which presses up to 
the very border of the lava of smoking Ceboruco. 
Thence the myrtle forests of Tepic are penetrated. On the 
tropic lakes thousands of log-like alligators lie, gloomily 
awaiting their prey. From the verge, which rich 
forests fringe, and where brilliant water-weeds encircle 
the shoals, dainty pink and white herons rise, and 
below the blue surface gleams the sheen of myriad 
fish. Far to the southwards the fitful volcanic flames 
of Colima light up the landscape at night. A day's 
journey more across the coastal plains, and our 
reconnaissance is finished. The long-drawn surf beats 
upon the shore of the vast western ocean, for we have 
crossed the continent ; and the sun's glowing disc dips 
to the blood-red waves — sunset in the Pacific. 



CHAPTER II 

THE DAWN OF MEXICO : TOLTECS AND AZTECS 

Lake Texcoco — Valley of Anahuac — Seat of the Aztec civilisation — Snow- 
capped peaks — Pyramids of Teotihuacan — Toltecs — The first 
Aztecs — The eagle, cactus, and serpent — Aztec oracle and wander- 
ings — Tenochtitlan — Prehistoric American civilisations — Maya, 
Incas — Quito and Peru — The dawn of history — The Toltec empire — 
Rise, regime, fall — Quetzacoatl — Otomies — Chichemecas — Nezahual- 
coyotl — Astlan — The seven tribes and their wanderings — Mexican 
war-god — The TeocaUis — Human sacrifices — Prehistoric City of 
Mexico — The Causeways — Aztec arts, kings, and civilisation — Monte- 
zuma — Guatemoc — Impressions of the Spaniards — The golden age of 
Texcoco — Vandalism of Spanish archbishop — The poet-king and his 
religion — Temple to the Unknown God — Aztecs and Incas com- 
pared — The Tlascalans — The Otomies — Cholula — Mexican tribes — 
Aztec buildings — Prehistoric art — Origin of American prehistoric 
civilisation — Biblical analogies — Supposed Asiatic and Egyptian 
origins — Aboriginal theory. 

Like the misty cloud-streaks of the early dawn, the 
beginning of the story of the strange empire of pre- 
historic Mexico unfolds from fable and fact as we 
look back upon it. We are to imagine ourselves upon 
the shores of Lake Texcoco, in the high valley-plateau of 
Anahuac, " the land amid the waters." It is the year 
1300, or a little later, of the Christian era. The 
borders of the lake are marshy and sedgy, the sur- 
rounding plain is bare and open, and there is no 
vestige of man and his habitation. Far away, east, 
west, and north, faint mountain ranges rise, shimmer- 
ing to the view in the sun's rays through the clear 

upland air, whilst to the south two beautiful gleaming 

20 




j^.-'/v; 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 21 

snow-capped peaks are seen,i and over all is the deep 
blue vault of the tropic highland sky. 

We have said that there are no vestiges of man or 
his structures to be seen, yet upon gazing penetra- 
tingly towards the north-east there might be observed 
the tops of two high ruined pyramids,^ the vestiges 
of the civilisation of the shadowy Toltecs. But we 
are not for the moment concerned with these ruined 
structures, for, as we watch, a band of dusky warriors, 
strangely clad, comes over the plain. They come 
like men on some set purpose, glancing about them, 
at the shores of the lake, at the horizon, expectantly, 
yet with a certain vague wistfulness as of deferred hope. 
Suddenly their leader halts and utters an ejaculation ; 
and with one hand shading the sun's rays from his 
eyes he points with outstretched arm towards the water's 
edge. His companions gaze intently in the direction 
indicated, and then run forward with joyous shouts 
and gesticulations. What is it that has aroused their 
emotions ? Near the lake-shore a rock arises, over- 
grown with a thorny nopal, or prickly-pear cactus, 
and perched upon this is an eagle with a serpent in 
its beak. 

Who are these men and whence have they come ? 
They are the first Aztecs, and they have come " from 
the north " ; and for centuries they have been wander- 
ing from place to place, seeking a promised land which 
their deity had offered them, a land where they should 
found a city and an empire. The hoped-for oracle is 
before them, the promised symbol which they had 
been bidden to seek, by which they should know the 
destined spot — an eagle perched upon a nopal with a 
serpent in its beak : and their wanderings are at an 
end. Here they pitched their camp, and here as time 
went on the wonderful city of Tenochtitlan arose, the 
centre of the strange Aztec civilisation. Thus, fable 
records, was first established the site of Mexico City ; 

' Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatepetl. 

^ Teotihuacan : pyramids of the sun and moon. 



22 MEXICO 

prehistoric, despotic, barbaric, first ; mediaeval, dark, 
romantic, later ; handsome and interesting to-day. 

But whence came these men ? That, indeed, who 
shall say ? Whence came the strange civilisation of 
the American races — Maya, Toltec, Aztec, Inca ? To 
Mexico and Yucatan and Guatemala, to Quito and Peru, 
whence came the peoples who built stone temples, 
pyramids, halls, tombs, inscribed hieroglyphics, and 
wrought cunning arts, such as by their ruins, relics, and 
traditions arouse our admiration even to-day. History 
does not say, yet what glimmerings of history and 
legend there are serve to take us farther back in time, 
although scarcely to a fixed starting-point, for the thread 
of the tale of wanderings and developments of these 
people of Mexico — a thread which seems traceable among 
the ruined structures of Anahuac. 

The first glimmerings of this history-legend refer to 
an unknown country "in the north." About the middle 
of the third century of the Christian era there proceeded 
thence the people known as the Mayas, who traversed 
Mexico and arrived in Yucatan ; and they are the 
reputed originators of the singular and beautiful temples 
encountered there, and the teachers of the stone-shaping 
art whose results arouse the admiration of the archae- 
ologist and traveller of to-day, in that part of Mexico. 
The descendants of the Mayas are among the most 
intelligent of the native tribes inhabiting the Republic, 
doubtless due to the influence of the polity and 
work of their ancestors. Time went on. About the 
middle of the sixth century A.D. another people came 
" out of the north " — the famous Toltecs, and in their 
southward migration they founded successive cities, 
ultimately remaining at Tollan, or Tula, and to them 
are attributed the remarkable pyramids of Teotihuacan, 
Cholula, and other structures. Tula is some fifty miles 
to the north of the modern city of Mexico, and it formed 
the centre of the powerful empire and civilisation of this 
cultured people. Eleven monarchs reigned, but the 
Toltec Empire was overthrown ; the people dispersed. 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 23 

and they mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of 
the twelfth century A.D., after some 450 years of existence. 
None of these dates, however, can be looked upon as 
really belonging to the realm of exact history. 

Tradition also has it that the Toltecs were dispersed by 
reason of a great famine due to drought, followed by 
pestilence, only a few people surviving. Banished from 
the scene of their civilisation by these disasters, the few 
remaining inhabitants made their way to Yucatan and 
Central America ; and their names and traditions seem 
to be stamped there. Beyond this little is known of the 
Toltecs. Possibly some of them found their way still 
further south to Ecuador and Peru, and influenced the 
Inca civilisations of the South American continent. To 
the Toltecs is ascribed the most refined civilisation of 
prehistoric America, a culture which was indeed the 
source of the far inferior one of the Aztecs, which we 
shall presently observe. The Toltecs wrought cleverly 
in gold and silver, and in cotton fabrics ; whilst the 
remarkable character of their buildings and structures is 
shown by the ruins of these to-day, as at Cholula and 
Teotihuacan. The art of picture-writing is attributed to 
them ; and the famous Calendar stone of Mexico has 
also been ascribed to these people. From amid the 
shadowy history of the Toltecs the traditions of the deity 
which so largely influenced prehistoric Mexican religion 
arose : the mystic Quetzacoatl, the " god of the air," 
" the feathered serpent." This strange personage was 
impressed upon the people's mind as a white man of a 
foreign race, with noble features, long beard, and flowing 
garments ; and he taught them a sane religion, in which 
virtue and austerity were dominant, and the sacrifice of 
human beings and animals forbidden. This singular 
personage, runs the fable, disappeared after twenty 
years' sojourn among them, in the direction of the rising 
sun, having promised to return. When the Spaniards 
came out of the East their coming was hailed as the 
return of Quetzacoatl, and the reverence and superstition 
surrounding these supposed " children of the sun" pro- 



24 MEXICO 

tected the Spaniards and permitted their advance into the 
country, and indeed, was at length conducive to the 
downfall of Montezuma and the Aztec Empire. 

So pass the cultured, shadowy Toltecs from our vision. 
They had been preceded in their southward migration 
by the Otomies, in the seventh century A.D., an exceed- 
ingly numerous and primitive people who almost annihi- 
lated the Spaniards during the Conquest, and whose 
descendants to-day occupy a vast region, and still largely 
speak their own language, rather than Spanish, The 
Toltecs were succeeded by yet another tribe " from the 
north," the Chichemecas, who came down and occupied 
their civilisation of Tula. These people, warlike and 
inferior in culture to the Toltecs, allied themselves with 
the neighbouring Nahua tribes, and an empire came into 
being, with its capital at Texcoco, on the shore of the 
great lake. The famous Nezahualcoyotl, the poet-king of 
this empire, who ascended the throne of Texcoco in 143 1, 
was one of the most remarkable figures of prehistoric 
Anahuac, and his genius and fortunes recall the history 
of Alfred of England, to the student's mind. He built 
a splendid palace at Texcotzinco, and ruins of its walls 
and aqueducts remain to this day. His life is sketched 
in these pages subsequently, and something of the beauty 
of his philosophy set forth. 

And thus history has brought us again to the Aztecs, 
the founders of Tenochtitlan by the lake-shore, on the 
spot indicated by their oracle. They had come " from 
the north," one of seven tribes or families, all of which 
spoke the Nahuatl or Mexican tongue. This unknown 
country, called Astlan, or " the land of the herons," was 
the home of these seven tribes — the Mexicas, or Aztecs, 
the Tlascalans, Xochimilcas, Tepanecas, Colhuas, Chalcas 
and Tlahincas — and has been varyingly assigned a 
locality in California, and in Sinaloa. Why the Aztecs 
left their northern home is not known, even in legend, 
but they were instigated to their wanderings, tradition 
says, by their fabled war-god, Huitzilopochtli, or Mexitl, 
from whom came the name " Mexica" or ''Azteca," by 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 25 

which these people called themselves. From the begin- 
ning of the tenth to the beginning of the thirteenth 
century A.D. this tribe journeyed and sojourned on its 
southward way, from valley to valley, from lake to lake, 
from Chapala to Patzcuaro, and thence to Tula, the old 
Toltec capital. Once more dispersed, they wandered on, 
and, guided by their oracle, reached their final resting- 
place at Tenochtitlan. This name, by which they 
designated their capital, was derived either from that of 
Tenoch, their venerated high priest, or from the Aztec 
words meaning "stone-serpent," in reference to the 
emblem they had followed. 

The first work of the people was to raise a great temple 
to their god — the bloodthirsty Huitzilopochtli — who had 
led them on. It was begun at once, and around it grew 
the habitations of the people, the huts made of reeds and 
mud called xacali, such as indeed to-day form the habi- 
tations of a large part of Mexican people under the name 
oi jacales.^ This great Teocalli, or " house of god," at the 
time of the arrival of the Spaniards, was a structure 
pyramidal in form, built of earth and pebbles and faced 
with cut stone, square at base, its sides — 300 to 400 feet 
long — facing the cardinal points of the heavens. Flights 
of steps on the outside, winding round the truncated 
pyramid, gave access to the summit. Here in the sanc- 
tuary was the colossal image of the Aztec war-god — the 
abominable conception of a barbaric people — and the 
stone of sacrifice upon which the sacrificial captives 
were laid. Upon its convex surface the unhappy 
wretches were successively bound, their breasts cut open 
with obsidian knives, and the still beating hearts, torn 
forth by the hand of the priest, were flung smoking before 
the deity ! 

Upon the marshy borders of this lake, set in the 
beautiful and fertile valley of Anahuac, the city rose 
to elegance and splendour. The jacales gave place to 
buildings of brick and stone, founded in many cases 
upon piles, and between them were streets and canals, 
' X and ;■ are often interchangeable in Spanish. 



26 MEXICO 

giving access to the city from the lake. Centre of all 
was the great Teocalli. 

The position of the city was peculiar. It was founded 
upon an island, and was subject to inundations from the 
salt waters of the lake ; for the Valley of Mexico had at 
that time no outlet for its streams. It formed a hydro- 
graphic entity ; and in this connection it reminds the 
traveller of the birthplace of that other strange, prehistoric 
American civilisation, three thousand miles away to the 
south-east — Lake Titicaca and the cradle of the Incas. 
To protect the city from these inundations embankments 
were made, and other works which attest the engineering 
capabilities of the people. Four great causeways gave 
access to the marshy island upon which the capital was 
situated — structures of stones and mortar, the longest 
being some four or five miles in length. To-day one of 
these forms part of a modern street, and the waters of the 
lake have retired more than two miles from the city. 

The habitations of the principal people were built of 
stone, and the interior of pohshed marbles and rare 
woods. Painting and sculpture embellished these 
interiors and exteriors, although these were generally 
crude and barbaric in their execution and representation. 
Around the city and upon the shores of the lakes, 
numerous villages arose, surrounded by luxurious gardens 
and orchards, and the singular chinampas, or floating 
gardens, were made, with their wealth of flowers, such 
as the early Mexicans both loved and demanded for 
sacrificial ceremonies. 

Naturally, all this development took time. Yet the 
rise of this civilisation must be considered rapid — pro- 
bably it was largely inherited in principle. The first 
Aztec government was the theocratic and military regime 
established in the fourteenth century under Tenoch, a 
miHtary priest and leader who died in 1343. Less than 
two hundred years afterwards the city of Tenochtitlan 
was in the zenith of power and culture at the moment 
when it fell before the Spaniards. Ten kings followed 
Tenoch, the first being Itzcoatl, who may be considered 






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THE DAWN OF MEXICO 27 

the real founder of the empire. He was followed by the 
first Montezuma, who greatly extended its sway, dying in 
1469. Then came Axayacatl, who is considered to be 
the constructor of the famous Mexican Calendar stone. 
Tizoc, his successor, hoped to win the favour of the war- 
god by the reconstruction of the great Teocalli, whose 
service was inaugurated by the infamous Ahuizotl in 
1487 and at whose dedication an appalling number of 
human sacrifices were made. Then at the beginning of 
1500 the throne was ascended by Montezuma the Second, 
who further extended the beauty and power of the Aztec 
capital, but who, vacillating and weighed down by the 
fear of destiny, lived but to witness the beginning of the 
fall of Mexico before the Spaniards in 15 19. The 
brave Guatemoc, the last of his line, strove vainly to 
uphold the dynasty against the invaders. 

There is no doubt that the Aztecs created a remarkable 
centre of semi-barbaric civilisation, and the descriptions 
given by the Spanish historians — whether those who 
accompanied Cortes, as Bernal Diaz, or those who drew 
their colouring from these accounts — are such as to 
arouse the interest and enthusiasm even of the reader 
of to-day. In this connection, of course, it is to be 
recollected that Cortes and his followers were not all 
men of education or trained knowledge of the great 
cities of the civilised world, and there is no doubt that 
they lacked somewhat the faculty of comparison, and 
over-estimated what they beheld. Let us translate from 
Clavijero, a Spanish historian and Jesuit who wrote 
later, and who describes the scene which the Spaniards 
beheld from the summit of the great Teocalli as "many 
beautiful buildings, gleaming, whitened, and burnished ; 
the tall minarets of the temples scattered over the various 
quarters of the city ; the canals ; verdant plantations 
and gardens — all forming a beautiful whole which the 
Spaniards never ceased to admire, especially observing 
it from the summits of the great temples which dominated 
not only the city immediately below, but its environs and 
the large towns beyond. No less marvellous were the 



28 MEXICO 

royal palaces and the infinite variety of plants and 
animals kept there ; but nothing caused them greater 
admiration than the great market plaza." " Not a 
Spaniard of them," according to Bernal Diaz, the soldier- 
historian of the Conquest, who was there and saw it all, 
although he wrote about it long afterwards, " but held it 
in high praise, and some of them who had journeyed 
among European cities swore they had never seen so 
vast a concourse of merchants and merchandise." 

Returning to our history, it is not to be supposed that 
this powerful Aztec nation, with their fine capital of 
Tenochtitlan, were the only people inhabiting the land of 
Anahuac at that time. Several other peoples held sway 
there. On the eastern side of Lake Texcoco, a few 
leagues away, lived the Texcocans, already mentioned ; 
one of the tribes who also had come " from the north " 
in early days and who had settled there. They also had 
developed or inherited a civilisation akin to that of the 
Toltecs, far more refined and important than that of their 
neighbours and kindred, the Aztecs. It was about the 
end of the twelfth century when the Texcocans established 
themselves, building a splendid capital and developing 
an extensive empire. But misfortune fell upon them as 
the centuries went on. Soon after the beginning of the 
fifteenth century they were attacked and overwhelmed by 
the Tepanecas, another of the seven kindred tribes : their 
city reduced and their monarch assassinated. But there 
arose a picturesque figure, the saviour of his country — 
Prince Nezahualcoyotl, son of the dead king. The 
prince passed years in disguise, as a fugitive, but at 
length was permitted to return to the capita), where he 
led a life of study. But his talents aroused the jealousy of 
the Tepanec usurper, who saw a danger of the people 
acclaiming him as their rightful lord and throwing off the 
yoke of the strangers. Nezahualcoyotl again became a 
fugitive, having escaped with his life by a stratagem, 
disappearing through a cloud of incense into a secret 
passage. But as the years went on the Texcocans, 
goaded to revolt by grievous taxation, arose : and seizing 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 29 

the moment, the outlawed prince put himself at the head 
of his people and regained his rightful position, largely 
with the assistance of the neighbouring Mexicans of 
Tenochtitlan. 

Then followed what has been termed the golden age of 
Texcoco. Its art, poets, and historians became renowned 
throughout Anahuac, and its collected literature was the 
centre of historical lore. Indeed, this it was that was so 
perversely destroyed by the first Archbishop of Mexico, 
Zumarraga, after the Conquest — an irremediable loss. 
The prince or emperor was a philosopher and a poet, and 
he has left some remarkable examples of his philosophical 
prayers to the " Unknown God," in whom he believed, 
abhorring the human sacrifices of his neighbours the 
Aztecs. He has been termed the " Solomon of Anahuac," 
although the severe code of laws he instituted have earned 
him a harsher name in addition. 

Under this regime agriculture prospered exceedingly, 
and a large population cultivated all the available ground, 
just as under the Incas of Peru the Andine slopes were 
terraced and cultivated. Splendid buildings were erected, 
and a style of luxurious living inaugurated somewhat 
after the fashion of Oriental history, and the descriptions 
of the magnificence of the royal appurtenances fill pages 
of the historians' accounts. Most of this history was 
written by the famous Ixtlilxochitl, son of this great 
emperor, who occupied the throne at the time of the 
Conquest and became an ally of the Spaniards against 
the Aztec. It is upon the writings of this prince-historian 
that much of the material of the later writers of the 
history of Mexico and the Conquest is founded. 

In the construction of his palaces and buildings Neza- 
hualcoyotl employed vast bodies of natives, after the 
manner of an Egyptian potentate of old. Baths, hang- 
ing-gardens, groves of cedar, harems, villas, temples 
formed the beautiful and luxurious Texcotzinco, the 
prince's residence, as described by its historian. To-day 
the mounds and debris of sculptured stone which formed 
the place scarcely arrest the traveller's attention. In the 



30 MEXICO 

midst of his luxury the emperor fell a prey to a passion 
for the betrothed of one of his subjects, a beautiful 
maiden. The unhappy individual who had thus become 
his monarch's rival — he was a veteran chief in the army — 
was needlessly sent on a military expedition, where he 
fell, and the hand of his promised bride was free for the 
monarch's taking. So was enacted upon these high 
regions of Anahuac a tragic episode, as of David and 
Uriah, to the blemish of an otherwise noble name and 
of a mind above the superstitions of his time. 

" Truly, the gods which I adore ; idols of stone and 
wood : speak not, nor feel, neither could they fashion the 
beauty of the heavens — the sun, the moon, and the stars 
. . . nor yet the earth and the streams, the trees and 
the plants which beautify it. Some powerful, hidden, 
and unknown God must be the Creator of the universe, 
and he alone can console me in my affliction or still the 
bitter anguish of this heart." ' So spake Nezahualcoyotl. 

Urged probably by the feelings of the philosopher 
(whose ponderings on the infinite may occasion him more 
anguish perhaps than the ordinary vicissitudes of life), 
the monarch raised up a temple to the " Unknown God," 
in which neither images nor sacrifices were permitted. 

After somewhat more than half a century of his reign, 
and at a time calculated as the beginning of the last 
quarter of the fifteenth century, this remarkable philo- 
sopher-king died, and was succeeded by his son Neza- 
hualpilli, who in a measure followed in his father's 
footsteps. But he also passed away, his life having 
been overshadowed to some extent by the singular belief 
or prediction of the fall of his people in the coming of 
the white man from the East — a belief which influenced 
both theTexcocans and the Aztecs. His son Ixtlilxochitl, 
the historian above named, was in power at the time of 
the conquest by the Spaniards, but he hated the Aztecs 
with a bitter hatred in consequence of their influence 
upon his people, and the installing by the machinations 

' I have translated this from the Spanish of IxtHlxochitl as quoted by 
Prescott.— C. R. E. 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 31 

of Montezuma of an elder brother upon the throne, 
which had plunged the kingdom into civil war. This 
was in the second decade of the sixteenth century. 

The Texcocans, in conjunction with yet another and 
smaller people living on the west side of the lake at 
Tlacopan, formed with the Aztecs a confederation or 
triple alliance of three republics, by which they agreed 
to stand together against all comers, and to divide all 
territory and results of conquest in agreed proportion. 
They carried on war and annexation around them for a 
considerable period, extending their sway far beyond the 
Valley of Mexico, or Anahuac, which formed their home, 
passing the Sierra Madre mountains to the east, until 
about the middle of the fifteenth century — under Monte- 
zuma — the land and tribes acknowledging their sway 
reached to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. To the 
south their arms and influence penetrated into what are 
now Guatemala and Nicaragua, whilst to the west they 
exercised sovereignty to the shores of the Pacific. 

These conquered territories were not necessarily of 
easy subjugation. On the contrary, they were plenti- 
fully inhabited by races of warrior-peoples, many of 
them with strong and semi-civilised social and military 
organisations. The analogy between this confederation 
of the Aztecs and the extending area of their dominion 
and civilisation, and the Incas of the Titicaca plateau of 
Peru, surrounded on all sides by savage warlike tribes, 
presents itself to the observer in this as in other respects. 
Like the Incas, the Aztec emperors ^ returned from cam- 
paign after campaign loaded with trophies and embar- 
rassed with strings of captives from the vanquished 
peoples who had dared oppose this powerful con- 
federation. The rich tropical regions of both the eastern 
and western slopes of the tableland of Anahuac thus 
paid tribute to the Aztecs, as well as the boundless 
resources of the south. 

But not all the nations of Anahuac fell under the 
dominion of the Aztecs. Far from it. The spirits of 

' Both these nations have been likened to the Romans in this respect. 



32 MEXICO 

the people of Tlascala would rise from their graves and 
protest against such an assertion ! Tlascala was a brave 
and warlike little republic of mountaineers — a kind of 
Switzerland — who inhabited the western slopes of the 
Eastern Sierra Madre and the eastern part of the plateau 
of Anahuac, under the shadow of the mighty Malinche, 
whose snow-crowned head arises on the eastern confines 
of the tableland. Tlascala, indeed, was a thorn in the 
side of Montezuma and the Aztecs. The latter had 
demanded that the little republic pay homage and 
tribute, and acknowledge the hegemony of the dominant 
nation, to which the Tlascalans made reply, " Neither our 
ancestors nor ourselves ever have or will pay tribute to 
any one. Invade us if you can. We beat you once and 
may do it again !" or words to that effect, as recorded 
by the historians. For in the past history of the 
Tiascalans — who were of the same original migratory 
family as the Aztecs — a great conflict had been recorded, 
in which they had vanquished their arrogant kindred. 

Deadly strife and hatred followed this, but Tlascala 
withstood all attacks from without, and, moreover, was 
strengthened by an alliance with the Otomies, a warlike 
race inhabiting part of the great mesa or central table- 
land north of Anahuac. These were the people who so 
grievously harassed the Spaniards after the Noche Triste 
and against whom the heroic battle of Otumba was 
fought. Except to the east, whence approach was 
easy from the coast, the territory of Tlascala was sur- 
rounded by mountains, and this natural defence was 
continued by the building of an extraordinary wall or 
fortification at the pregnable point. Through this the 
Spaniards passed on their journey of invasion, and, 
indeed, its ruins remained until the seventeenth century. 
The name of the Tlascalans well deserves to be written 
on the pages of the history of primitive Mexico, for it 
was largely due to their alliance with the Spaniards 
that the conquest of Mexico by Cortes and his band 
was rendered possible. 

In addition to these various and petty powers and 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 33 

independent republics upon the tableland of Anahuac 
and its slopes, must be mentioned that of Cholula, a 
state to the south of Tenochtitlan, in what now is the 
State of Puebla. This region, which contains the 
remarkable mound or pyramid bearing its name — 
Cholula — the construction of which is ascribed to the 
Toltecs, was, with its people, dominated by and under 
tribute to the Aztecs. So was the nation of the Cem- 
poallas, upon the Vera Cruz coast, who rendered assist- 
ance to the landing Conqiiistadores ; and, indeed, almost 
all the natives of that vast region acknowledged the 
sway and lived in awe of the empire of Montezuma. 

It is seen that Mexico, in prehispanic times, was fairly 
well populated — comparatively speaking, of course. 
Indeed, at the present time there are ten times as 
many Indians in that part of North America which 
forms modern Mexico, as ever existed in the whole 
of the much vaster area which forms the United States. 
The inhabitants of Mexico were divided into two main 
classes — those living under a civilised or semi-civilised 
organisation, such as the Aztecs and others already 
enumerated, and those which may be looked upon as 
savages. These latter were exceedingly numerous, and 
at the present day something like 220 different tribal 
names have been enumerated. This serves to show the 
wide range of peoples who inhabited the land before 
the Conquest, principally as clans, or gentiles^ as in South 
America also. 

Having seen, thus, what were the anthropo-geographi- 
cal conditions of primitive Mexico, we may cast a brief 
glance at the arts and institutions of these semi-civilised 
peoples. Their buildings — most indelible records of 
these civilisations — cover a considerable range of terri- 
tory, as has been observed : yet the antiquities of less 
important nature cover one very much greater. The 
true stone edifices, the real mural remains, are, how- 
ever, confined to certain limits — between the i6th and 
22nd parallel of north latitude — that is to say, the 
southern half of Mexico. Roughly, these buildings 

4 



34 MEXICO 

may be divided into three classes — adobe, or sun-dried 
earthen brick, unshaped stone and mortar, and cut and 
carved stone. In some cases a combination of these 
was used in the same structure. The best elements of 
construction do not seem to have been used. Domes 
and arches were not known to these builders, although 
they had a system of corbelling-out over openings, 
which, in the case of the Maya " arch," approximates 
thereto. They also used lintels of stone and wood, and 
these last were the weak points, and their decaying hab 
sometimes brought down part of the fafade. The work 
of the sculptor is crude, like that of the Incas of Peru, 
of which it reminds the traveller in some cases, but 
shows signs of evolving power and a sense of the 
beautiful, as has been averred by the most learned 
antiquarians who have studied it. It is held that there 
were several schools of architecture represented. 

The various kinds of structures and relics found 
throughout the country include pyramids, temples, 
tombs, causeways, statues, fortifications, terraced hills, 
rock-sculpture, idols, painted caves, calendar stones, 
sacrificial stones, habitations, canals, pottery, mummies, 
cenotes, or wells, &c. The northernmost point where any 
monument in stone is encountered is at Quemada, in the 
State of Zacatecas, which seems to mark the limit of 
the stronger civilisation of Southern Mexico, in contrast 
to the less virile civilisation which seems to be indicated 
by the clay and adobe structures of the northern part of 
Mexico and of the adjoining territory embodied at the 
present day in Arizona, California, and New MexicO; 
beyond the Rio Grande. 

But once more we ask, " Where did these people 
come from originally ? " It has been said that the 
origin of the people of a continent belongs not to the 
realm of history but of philosophy. Well may it be so, 
but we are not content. What was the origin of the first 
peoples of the Americas, and where did the principle of 
their barbaric civilisation come from ? There were the 
fables of the lost continent of Atlantis — of which, geologi- 



THE DAWN OF MEXICO 35 

cally, part of North America is a portion — to be con- 
sidered : and perchance, so thought the earher thinkers, 
these peoples, remnants of its population. But the 
generally accepted theory assigns Eastern Asia as the 
source, and analogies are adduced in architecture, customs, 
religions, physiognomy, and a multitude of conditions. As 
to language, careful study has shown, on the other hand, 
that none of the numerous indigenous tongues of the 
present-day Mexican aborigines bear any resemblance 
whatever to Asiatic tongues, except that some like- 
ness between Otomie and Chinese is traced : whilst 
some points of similarity are adduced with the speech of 
the Esquimaux. Last century an Englishman — Lord 
Kingsborough — spent a fortune in endeavouring to prove 
the theory, which had been advanced a hundred years 
earlier, that these emigrating tribes of the Mexican plateau 
were those lost ten of Israel ! And he published a magnifi- 
cent work, reproducing the best examples of their picture- 
writing, to this end. Indeed, in earlier times, analogies 
have run riot in attempts to prove a common origin for 
fables and for real incidents, with those of Biblical 
narrative. Among the prehistoric civilisations of the 
Americas — Mexico and Peru — some of these analogies 
are remarkable, and might well give rise to such specula- 
tion ; among them being the stories of the Deluge, 
and of a virgin birth for a leader or redeemer of men. 
Further similarities are adduced in matters relating to 
the system of chronology — that used by the Aztecs having 
analogy to that of the Mongol family, and to some extent 
of the Persians and Egyptians. Indeed, in the archi- 
tecture of these prehistoric American ruins resemblance 
is traced to Egypt, as well as similarity in other matters ; 
and this more strongly perhaps in Peru than in Mexico. 
In general terms it may be said that many points of pre- 
historic Mexican civilisation suggest analogy with Egypt 
and with Hindustan, and it has been said that, from his 
head-dress to his sandalled feet, the native Mexican is 
Hispano-Egyptian. But be it as it may, their civilisation 
seems to have come from the West, not from the East. 



36 MEXICO 

These aboriginal people and their attributes have nothing 
in common with Europeans or negroes, whilst they are 
not unhke Asiatics. I have often been surprised by the 
strong ''Japanese" or Mongol character in the Mexican 
face. How and when such prehistoric immigrants came, 
whether by the approaching shores of Behring Straits, 
whether in that geological time when land connection 
between North America and Asia was intact, is buried in 
oblivion. Beyond these theories there still remains that of 
an autocthonous origin ; and who shall yet afhrm that both 
the people and their civilisation may not have sprung 
and evolved upon the soil of the world which we call 
new ? Time and advancing knowledge may yet reveal 
these secrets. 



CHAPTER III 

THE STRANGE CITIES OF EARLY MEXICO 

Principal prehistoric monuments — Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan — Pyra- 
mids of Teotihuacan — Toltec sun-god — Pyramid of Cholula — 
Pyramids of Monte Alban — Ruins of Mitla — Remarkable monoliths 
and sculpture — Beautiful prehistoric stone-masonry — Ruins of 
Palenque — Temple of the Sun, and others — Stone vault construc- 
tion — Ti^opical vegetation — Ruins of Yucatan — Maya temples — 
Architectural skill — Temples of Chichen-Ytza — Barbaric sculpture — 
Effect of geology on building — The Aztec civilisation — Land and 
social laws — Slavery — Taxes, products, roads, couriers — Analogy 
with Peru — Aztec homes and industries — War, human sacrifice, 
cannibalism — History, hieroglyphics, picture-writing — Irrigation, 
agriculture, products — Mining, sculpture, pottery — Currency and 
commerce — Social system — Advent of the white man. 

The most remarkable of the remaining monuments in 
stone of the peoples who successively or contempor- 
aneously inhabited Mexico, are those well-defined and 
fairly well-known groups of ruins scattered at wide 
distances apart in the southern and south-eastern part 
of Mexican territory. The principal of these are : 
Teotihuacan, at Texcoco, in the Valley of Mexico ; 
Cholula, in the State of Puebla; Monte Alban and 
Mitla, in the State of Oaxaca ; Palenque, in the State 
of Chiapas ; Uxmal and Chichen-Ytza, in the peninsula 
of Yucatan. 

Of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, or Mexico, but httle 
of antiquity remains, as, according to the historian of the 
Conquest, the place was almost entirely razed to the ground 
by Cortes. It is probable, however, that enduring stone 
edifices formed a much less considerable part of this 

37 



38 MEXICO 

city than has been supposed. Nevertheless, modern 
excavations continually lay bare portions of Aztec 
masonry, as well as sculptured monoliths. A short time 
ago a sculptured tiger, weighing eight tons, was un- 
earthed and deposited in the museum in the capital. 
The principal building of the Aztec city was the great 
Teocalli, upon whose site the existing cathedral was built. 
This huge truncated pyramid has been described already. 
It was surrounded by a great wall, upon the cornice of 
which huge carved stone serpents and tigers were the 
emblematic ornaments. From this wall four gates 
opened on to the four main streets, which radiated 
away towards the cardinal points of the compass. Its 
dimensions are given as 365 feet long by 300 feet wide 
at the base, whilst the summit-platform was raised more 
than 150 feet above the level of the streets and square. 
Here was set the great image of the Aztec war-god, the 
idol of the abominable Huitzilopochtli which Cortes and 
his men, after their frightful hand-to-hand struggle 
with the Aztecs on this giddy platform, tumbled down the 
face of the pyramid into the streets below, among the 
astonished Indians. The grandeur, architecturally, of 
the ancient City of Mexico has probably been some- 
what exaggerated by the Conqiiistadores and subsequent 
chroniclers, whose enthusiasm sometimes ran riot. 

The ruins of Teotihuacan are situated in the north- 
eastern part of the valley of Mexico, some miles from the 
shores of Lake Texcoco and twenty-five miles from the 
modern City of Mexico. They are generally ascribed to 
the Toltecs, or, at any rate, to a civilised nation greatly 
previous to the Aztecs ; for the ruins were abandoned and 
their origin unknown when these people arrived. Cortes 
and his Spaniards, defeated and fleeing after the terrible 
struggle of the Noche Triste, passed near to the great 
earth pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, which are the 
main structures of Teotihuacan ; but even at that time 
tiiey were — as they are to-day — mere mounds of earth, in 
which the pyramidal form has been partly obliterated by 
the action of time. 






^ O 

< ^ 



i< :3 



3 w 



Q « 



THE STRANGE CITIES 39 

The very extensive mounds and remains which con- 
stitute Teotihuacan are of numerous pyramids, and some 
ruined walls which have been excavated of recent years. 
All of these are formed of adobe and irregular pieces of 
the lava of which the adjoining hills are composed. 
Rude carved monoliths of deities have, however, been 
recovered from the debris. The main features of the 
ruins are, first, the " Pyramid of the Sun," a huge mound 
which forms the most colossal structure of prehistoric 
man in America. It measures, approximately, at its base 
— for its outlines are so indefined that no exact form can 
be adduced — some 700 feet on each side, rising upwards 
in the form of a truncated pyramid rather less than 200 feet 
above the level of the plain. Next, the " Pyramid of the 
Moon," a similar but smaller structure — about 500 feet at 
base — distant from the first some thousands of yards along 
a strange road or path across the plain, known as Micoatl, 
or the " Path of the Dead," some two miles in length. 
From the summit of the " Pyramid of the Moon " the 
beholder looks down into the great courtyard of an 
adjoining group of ruins ; thence his eye travels along 
this pathway to where the huge *' Pyramid of the Sun " 
arises, far off, on its left-hand side. Between these and 
indeed beyond them, and bordering on the " Path of 
the Dead " — probably so called in relation to human 
sacrifice — are numerous other mounds, which were 
formerly pyramids of similar character, but of much 
less magnitude. Probably, in ages past, they were all 
crowned by temples, and ascended by staircases and 
terraces — evidences of which, indeed, still remain — 
whilst the slopes were probably covered with stone 
and stucco. It is stated that upon the high summit 
of the great pyramid — that dedicated to Tonatiuh, the 
sun — a huge stone statue of this deity was placed, and 
that a plate of polished gold upon its front reflected back 
the first rays of the rising sun. The name Teotihuacan 
signifies the " house of the gods." Doubtless it was, in 
unknown centuries past, the centre of a thriving civilisation 
and busy and extensive agricultural population. To-day 



40 MEXICO 

the great pyramid casts its shadow toward a small village 
oi jacales, upon a semi-arid plain. 

The pyramid of Cholula is of truncated form, like most 
of these numerous structures. Its height is 200 feet and 
its base measures 1,440 feet, which is greater than that of 
the pyramid of Cheops, and it forms the oldest and largest 
teocalli in Mexico. The presiding deity of this "house 
of God " was the mysterious Quetzacoatl. In company 
with Teotihuacan at Texcoco, and Papantla, in the State 
of Vera Cruz, Cholula is ascribed to the Toltecs. The 
elevation above sea-level of the site of this structure is 
7,500 feet, and at the time of Cortes the surrounding 
town is said to have contained a population of 150,000 
inhabitants. Its summit is more than an acre in exten- 
sion, and although partly obliterated and overgrown, the 
pyramid is crowned to-day with a Roman Catholic church 
of Spanish-American type. As has been described, these 
Teocallis were for purposes of religious rite and sacrifice, 
and upon their upper platforms were the sanctuaries, 
idols, and never-extinguished sacred fire, all reached by 
exterior staircases up the slope of the structure. 

The State of Oaxaca — and part of the adjoining State 
of Guerrero — is remarkable for the numerous ruins of 
prehistoric inhabitants scattered upon its ridges and 
mountain crests. Terraces, pyramids, and walls crown 
the summits and extend down the slopes, actually 
clashing in some cases with the natural profiles of the 
hills, and causing the natural and artificial to mingle 
in a strange, and at first glance, scarcely distinguishable 
blend. These numerous ruins, and the small cultivated 
terraced patches on the almost inaccessible hill slopes, 
bring to mind the similar constructions of the old ruins 
and the singular "andenes" of the Andes of Peru.^^ 
They point to a busy and numerous population in 
former times, and in some cases the topography of 
whole mountain slopes has been remodelled by the 
hand of prehistoric man. No place was too inacces- 
sible, and terrace and temple crown the Andine 

' See my book, "The Andes and the Amazon." 




its '* 




THE STRANGE CITIES 41 

summits in Peru at more than 16,000 feet elevation 
above sea-level, and in Mexico in similar or greater 
profusion, but at less altitude. 

Among the remarkable ruins of this nature, in Oaxaca, 
are those of Monte Alban, near the capital city of 
Oaxaca. Here are entire crests of mountains, cut away 
into terraces, quadrangles, and courts, and their great 
extent and strange environment create a sense of 
awe and amazement in the beholder. The utter 
abandonment and sense of solitude ; the high ridges, 
thousands of feet above the valley, which, dim and 
distant through the atmospheric haze, glimmers below ; 
the vast expanse of sky and landscape, without a sound 
or touch of life, invests the remains of those seemingly 
unreal or fairy cities of prehistoric man with a sense 
of mystery and unfathomed time. Pyramid after 
pyramid, terrace after terrace, the latter from 500 to 
1,000 feet in length, extend along the ridge of the 
Alban hill — the numerous truncated pyramids rising, 
like the playthings of some prehistoric giant, from the 
levelled places. The beholder may imagine the chain of 
Teocallis which crowned them, lighted up at night by the 
glare of the never-extinguished sacred fires, as the throng- 
ing multitude of the great population of those barbaric 
peoples of pre-Columbian Mexico pressed along the 
streets below. He may fill in, in his mind's eye, the 
picture, fanciful and unreal, as if borrowed from the pages 
of some Eastern romance, were it not that the actual 
vestiges of that time are before him. Vast labour — 
probably directed by autocratic mandate without heed of 
native life, and working throughout generations — must 
have been employed to collect and raise up in place the 
stone, and earth, and adobe material of these pyramids, 
and to make the great levellings and excavations upon 
these inaccessible summits. They were cities, as well 
as mere places of religious ceremony, and a large number 
of people must have dwelt in these " mansions in the 
skies." 

In the same State of Oaxaca are the famous ruins 



42 MEXICO 

of Mitla, pride of the archaeology of Mexico, situated 
some thirty miles from the state capital of Oaxaca. 
These famous ruins of Mitla are of a different character 
to the pyramidal structures of Monte Alban, although 
they have a low pyramidal base and were built mainly 
for religious purposes, it is probable, like most of 
these prehistoric monuments. They are situated in 
an inhabited valley, and the ruins consist of five main 
groups, some of which are exceedingly well preserved. 
Indeed, whilst the ruins of Mitla are by no means 
so extensive as others described, they are in the best 
state of preservation of any in the country. And 
this is due both to their method of construction and 
to their environment ; for, unlike the low, tropical regions 
of Chiapas and Yucatan, this district is at a considerable 
altitude above sea-level. The great " palaces " or halls 
which these groups form, occupy an area of about 
1, 800 feet from north to south, by 1,200 feet from east to 
west. The principal groups are known as the " Hall of 
the Monoliths or Columns," the "Catholic group," 
and the "Arroyo group." Like some of the pyramids 
throughout Mexico, these are oriented, in this case 
the variation being but a few degrees from the cardinal 
points of the compass. The remarkable Hall of the 
Monoliths is a building some 125 feet long by 25 feet 
wide, with a row of great stone columns running down 
the centre. These columns are cut from a single piece 
of trachyte, 15 feet in height, and 3 feet in diameter 
at the base, tapering somewhat upwards, but of almost 
cylindrical form, without pedestal or capital. Whilst 
these columns are intact, the roof, which was doubtless 
supported on beams resting on the column, is gone. 
The weight of these monoliths is calculated at five or six 
tons, and they were cut from quarries in the trachyte 
rock of the mountains some five miles away, and more 
than 1,000 feet above the site of Mitla. In this quarry 
half-cut blocks for columns and lintels are still in 
place. Food for thought, even for the modern engineer, 
is this work. 



THE STRANGE CITIES 43 

But the monolithic columns here are by no means 
the only remarkable features of the masonry of Mitla. 
The interior and exterior of these great halls are carved 
with a beautifully executed geometrical design — the 
Greek pattern enclosed in a quadrilateral, the blocks 
upon which they are cut being exactly fitted and 
adjusted in their places with scarcely visible joints. 
Indeed, at Mitla, as in other places in the Americas — 
Huanuco ^ and Cuzco, in Peru, for example — it seems 
to have been deemed an essential and peculiar art to 
adjust great blocks of stone with so great a nicety that no 
mortar was necessary and the joints almost invisible. 
This, of course, necessitated infinite time and patience — 
both of which were at the disposal of these prehistoric 
builders. It is to be recollected, in this connection, 
that each stone was generally an individual and not 
a counterpart, and so often had to be fitted to its 
fellows in the wall, by the laborious method of con- 
tinually placing and removing. The remarkable and 
intricate nature of the mosaics and carved blocks at 
Mitla call forth the admiration of the observer. A vast 
number of separate stones have been employed, each 
requiring its respective forming, shaping, and placing, 
and one of the halls alone shows more than 13,000 
such stones in its walls. The stone doorways to 
these halls are chaste, massive, and effective. The 
stone lintels in some cases are more than 12 feet long, 
and nearly 4 feet thick. Indeed, there exist at Mitla 
nearly a hundred examples of great monoliths, whether 
columns, lintels, or roof stones, some weighing as 
much as 15 tons, and up to 20 feet in length. 

The earliest account of the ruins of Mitla, by Francisco 
de Burgoa, a priest of Oaxaca, who visited them in 
1674, states that these beautiful halls were the scene, 
in prehistoric times, of the most diabolical rites. To- 
day the ruins are surrounded by a rude native popula- 
tion, most of whom dwell in wretched jacales, in a 
waterless and sun-beat valley — an environment in 
* See the " Andes and the Amazon." 



44 MEXICO 

striking contrast to the antique splendour of these 
halls of the earlier occupiers of the land. 

The ruins of Palenque, in the State of Chiapas, are 
situated at the base of the picturesque foothills of 
Tumbala, which border upon Guatemala, in a true 
tropical environment of luxuriant forest and brimming 
streams. From this setting the ruined temples and 
pyramids stand forth like a vision of a charmed or 
fabled story. Dense tropical undergrowth covers them, 
and grows again as soon as explorers, who have removed 
portions of Nature's persistent covering, leave the place. 
The main structures take the form of great truncated 
pyramids built up of earth, stones, and masonry, with 
temples and palaces of masonry upon their summits. 
Twelve of these pyramids have been discovered so far, 
and eight are crowned by buildings, the principal of 
which are known respectively as, the "Temple of the Sun," 
the "Temple of the Cross," "Temple of the Inscriptions," 
and the extensive group of ruins termed "The Palace." 
These temples and palaces consist of massive masonry 
walls, partly of roughly-shaped blocks, and partly of 
cut-and-carved stone, and stucco sculpture, with 
numerous doorways or openings on to the platform 
of the pyramid-summit. The interior of the buildings 
is a singular vault-like construction, covered with 
roofs of masonry carried by the vaulting. These 
vaults, however, do not embody the principle of the 
arch, but rather of the off-set, or lean-to, and are very 
high in proportion to their width. From the palace 
group arises a square tower of four storeys, about 40 
feet in height, forming the centre of the group of 
extensive courts, buildings, and fagades which sur- 
round it, all built upon the summit of a pyramid 
some 200 feet square. As in the Yucatan structures, 
the lintels over the doorway-openings in the walls were 
of wood, and their decay has largely been the cause 
of the fafades having fallen into ruins, in many places. 
There are various interior staircases to these buildings, 
and the huge and unique reliefs of human figures are 



THE STRANGE CITIES 45 

a remarkable feature of the interior. The beautiful 
figure known as the Beau Rehef is compared to the 
rehef sculptures of Babylon and Egypt. The material 
of construction was limestone, generally in unshaped 
blocks, not laid in regular courses, but with large 
quantities of mortar and stucco. The walls were 
lavishly painted and coloured. Indeed, the nature of 
the building has doubtless obeyed the character of 
the stone, which does not lend itself to careful cutting 
and carving like the easily-worked trachyte of Mitla. 
A very noteworthy structure of this prehistoric city, 
is the subterranean passage-way for the stream, which 
passes down the valley upon whose slopes the ruins 
of Palenque are situated. This, of stone-vaulted con- 
struction, after the manner before described, is somewhat 
less than i,ooo feet long, and the stream still flows 
through a portion of it. On every hand the extra- 
ordinary vigour of the tropical forest is evident, and 
the dense growth of trees, vines, and herbs which cover 
valley, pyramid, walls, and roofs, attest the power of the 
vegetable world. 

The prehistoric structures of Yucatan — among the 
principal of which are those of Uxmal and Chichen-Ytza 
— are exceedingly numerous. Indeed, the traveller in 
this territory of the Mayas is rarely out of sight of 
crumbling pyramid or temple, as he traverses the dense 
forests of these curious flat and streamless limestone 
regions. Whilst most of these edifices were for purposes 
of religious ceremonial, the object of many of them can 
scarcely be conjectured. Their builders appear to have 
been people of a peaceful nature, and their dwellings do 
not generally bear evidence of defensive design. The 
architectural skill of the Mayas must have been of a very 
high order. Among the buildings which exist some are 
nearly perfect units of design, and seem almost to argue 
the use of " working drawings," as the plan and detail 
must have been perfected as a whole before the building 
was begun. This architectural skill of conception, how- 
ever, has been common in many countries. Some of the 



46 MEXICO 

buildings were in use when Cortes landed and fought on 
the shores of Yucatan, nearly four hundred years ago ; 
nevertheless, they are in a remarkable state of preserva- 
tion, notwithstanding the ravages both of Nature and of 
man, tending towards their destruction ; for on the one 
hand, the roots of trees and profuse vegetation of a 
tropical region are efficient levers in the throwing down 
of the masonry, and on the other, the vandal ignorance 
of the surrounding inhabitants of the modern towns of 
the region permits them to make use of the stones in 
their own walls. 

The ruins of Chichen-Ytza, the prehistoric city in 
the northern part of Yucatan, are among the most 
important and best preserved of any of the stone 
structures of the Americas. The ruins are grouped 
around two great natural wells, the cenotes, famous in 
this remarkable peninsula. Indeed, the derivation of 
the name of the old city is from Maya words meaning 
the " Mouth of the Well," and it serves to show the value 
in which these singular water-supplies were held in this 
riverless region of Yucatan. Among the most interest- 
ing of the structures of Chichen and Uxmal is that of 
the buildings known as El Foloc, or " the Church." 
Another is that known as the " House of the Nuns," and 
yet another the "Temple of the Tigers," which latter 
shows a sculptured procession of tigers or lynxes. 
Again, " the Castle " is remarkable, set upon a pyramid 
rising more than loo feet above the plain. The 
"Governor's Palace," the "House of the Pigeons," and 
" House of the Turtles," are others of these remarkable 
structures. 

The profuse and extraordinary, yet barbaric-appearing 
sculpture of the facades and interiors of these buildings 
arrests the observer's attention, and, indeed, fills him 
with amazement, as does their construction in general. 
What instruments of precision did a rude people possess 
who could raise such walls, angles, monoliths, true and 
plumb as the work of the mason of to-day ? 

It would be beyond the scope of this work to enter 



THE STRANGE CITIES 47 

more fully into the details of these ruins. They have 
been minutely examined and described by famous 
archaeologists, who have devoted much time thereto, 
and the student may be referred to their works. The 
foregoing is but a sketch, barely touching upon the 
extensive and beautiful handwork in stone of the ancient 
dwellers of this land. Indeed, the traveller may behold 
them for himself, without great risk or difficulty. He 
will observe them with admiration. Pyramids rising 
from the plains or forest-seas which surround them ; 
strange halls where unknown people dwelt ; great cities 
where busy races lived. The character of the various 
groups of ruins throughout the land shows the 
effect that the geology of the respective regions has had 
upon the stone-masonry of these prehistoric builders. 
As has been shown, the beautiful trachyte of Mitla, 
which, whilst it is tough and enduring, is soft, and lends 
itself readily to the chisel. The result has been handed 
down in the beautiful and exact sculpture of the blocks 
and grecques of the fagades of these palaces : work 
which could not have been performed in a more 
refractory stone. Not a great distance away are the 
Monte Alban ruins, as described, which, although 
extensive and remarkable, show nothing of exact and 
intricate work in stone-shaping. The hard or sihcious 
rocks which form the immediate region, and the quartzite 
and crystalline limestone, did not lend themselves, 
either in the quarry or under the chisel, to such work. 
In Chiapas, the unshaped and uncoursed masonry of 
Palenque is formed of a hard, brittle limestone, scarcely 
capable of being worked to faces. No invisible 
joints, such as are the beauty of some of the ancient 
stone structures of the Americas — North and South — 
were possible, and mortar and stucco were freely 
employed. Very different, however, was the limestone 
used in Yucatan. It was easily quarried from its bed, 
and was of such a texture as lent itself to the profuse and 
beautiful sculpture of those Maya cities of long ago. 
Again, the great pyramidal structures of Teotihuacan and 



48 MEXICO 

surrounding ruins of the Toltec civilisation, had Utile for 
their composition but lavas of basaltic nature, which did 
not possess a character adaptable for exact stone-shaping. 
Thus it is seen how largely the existence, or non-existence, 
of freestone influenced the character of these prehistoric 
structures. 

Of exceeding interest are these old buildings of the 
early Mexicans, whether upon the open plains of the 
uplands, or buried in the glades of the tropical forests. 
There they arise, great palace walls where sculptured 
tigers and serpents, and strange designs, run in barbaric 
riot around their ruined facades, above grim vaults, sub- 
terranean passages, and chambers of inexplicable purpose. 
There they stand, chapters in stone of the history of a 
people whose destiny it seems to have been to have 
formed no link in the purpose and evolution of man ; a 
people who seem to have been upon the threshold of a 
true civilisation. 

The form of government of the principal peoples of 
Anahuac, the Aztecs and Texcocans, was an uncommon 
one — that of an elected monarchy. The king or 
emperor was chosen, however, from among members 
of the royal family, whether brothers or nephews of 
the preceding sovereign, by the four appointed electors. 
He was installed with barbaric splendour, a main feature 
of the event being the great sacrifice of human beings in 
the Teocalli — that diabolical custom which ever robs the 
Aztec regime of the dignity of any appellation beyond 
that of semi-civilisation. Otherwise the Aztec regime may 
be considered as a military democracy. The land was 
held, to some extent, by great chiefs under a species of 
feudal system which carried with it certain obligations as 
to military service, but it was also assigned to the use 
of the people. The monarchy became of a despotic 
character, and legislative power lay with the sovereign, 
although a system of judicial tribunals administered 
justice throughout the cities of the Empire, and the Aztec 
civilisation had at least advanced far enough to acknow- 
ledge and uphold, by legal machinery, the rights and 



THE STRANGE CITIES 49 

security of individuals and of property. Like the customs 
of the Incas of Peru, heavy penalties — generally of death 
— were meted out for bribery or corruption of the officers 
of justice. 

Indeed, the great crimes were in most cases capital 
offenceSj as murder, adultery, thieving, as well as the 
misappropriation of funds, and the removal of land 
boundaries with intent to defraud. Marriage was a 
solemn and binding ceremonial, and divorce could be 
obtained only after a careful judicial inquiry and sanc- 
tion. Slavery existed in several forms — captives of 
battles, reserved for the sacrifice ; criminals, paupers, 
and debtors became slaves voluntarily ; and children of 
poor parents who where sold into a species of mild 
servitude or dependency. No child, however, could be 
born into the condition of slavery — a somewhat unique 
proviso among systems of servitude. 

The land system was, in some respects, similar to that 
which obtained amongst the Incas : a just and philo- 
sophical distribution of the soil amongst the people who 
dwelt upon it. Indeed, in the matter of land tenure, both 
the Incas and the Aztecs — these semi-civilised peoples of 
prehistoric America — employed a system which the most 
advanced nations of to-day — Great Britain or the United 
States — have not yet evolved, although in the case of 
Britain it seems that such is slowly appearing. The 
system was that of parcelling out the land among the 
families of the villages or country-side, and did not permit 
its absorption by large, individual landholders. The 
peasant thus had his means of support assured, and it 
was forbidden to dispose of the land thus allotted, which 
reverted to the State in the case of extinction of the 
family. This land system was governed by a careful 
code of laws, in these American communities. In Peru 
the individual ownership of land was a very marked 
feature of the social regime.^ Lands were nevertheless 
set apart for the sovereign. 

' See my books "Peru," and the "Andes and the Amazon." These land 
systems are worthy of study by economists upon the land question to-day. 

5 



50 MEXICO 

Taxes were paid upon agriculture and manufacture, in 
goods. These included most of the very varied products 
of the empire — varying as they did with the wide range 
of climate and topography, just as the products of the 
Mexico of to-day vary. Gold and copper utensils, pottery, 
arms, paper, cochineal, timber, cocoa, grains, fruits, 
gums, animals, and birds, and the beautiful feather- 
work in which the people excelled, were among these. 
Spacious warehouses in the capitals existed (as in Peru) 
for the storing of these, and any embezzlement or mal- 
administration was rigorously punished. 

Another institution of the Aztecs which calls to the 
traveller's mind a similar one among the coeval Incas of 
Peru, three thousand miles away in South America, was 
that of their means of communication. Such were main- 
tained by relays of runners or postmen, who journeyed at 
great speed over roads which connected the distant parts 
of the empire ; and it is stated that two hundred miles 
were covered in a day by these trained messengers, each 
of which performed the two leagues — the distance 
between the post-houses — within an hour. Just as the 
Inca Emperor of Peru, at Cuzco, beyond the great 
Cordillera of the Andes, was served with fish brought in 
fresh from the Pacific Ocean, so Montezuma, the Aztec 
monarch, also ate it, straight from the Gulf of Mexico, 
at his capital of Tenochtitlan beyond the maritime 
Cordillera of Anahuac. Striking and of marked interest 
to the traveller of to-day, in those vast and rugged regions 
of Mexico and Peru, is this matter of the native couriers, 
who journeyed over mountain roads, swollen rivers, 
desert plains, and ice-crowned summits. 

The wealthier people lived in houses of stone, finished 
and furnished with certain barbaric luxuriance, in which 
tapestries woven and richly coloured, and secured with 
fastenings of gold, had their place. A remarkable industry 
and article of clothing of the early Mexicans was the 
beautiful feather-work, made of the plumage of the many- 
coloured birds, for which Mexico is famous. Surtouts of 
this feather-work were worn outside their military dresses, 
or armour, of padded cotton. 



THE STRANGE CITIES 61 

War was the great mainspring of action of the Aztecs. 
It is true that they had a long peaceful period after their 
establishing upon the lake-girt island of the Eagle and the 
Serpent, and that they developed their civilisation in some 
security within this natural fortification, but nevertheless, 
as previously shown, they extended their conquests on 
all sides. Fear, not regard, kept the subject-nations of 
Anahuac under their sway, however, and this was one of 
the elements leading to the downfall of the empire, in the 
course of time. Military orders were much esteemed and 
bestowed. The armies were well equipped and drilled, 
and breaches of discipline were rigorously punished. 
The hospitals, which were established for the treatment of 
the sick and wounded, called forth the praise of the Spanish 
chroniclers. Captives of war were made as abundantly 
as possible, to be reserved for the sacrificial stone of the 
war-god, and the Aztecs carried on this appalhng practice 
of human sacrifice to such an extent as has not been 
equalled by any other nation. But the most atrocious 
part of the ceremony, as practised on some occasions, was 
that of the serving up of the body of victims at a repast, 
where they were eaten ! — sheer cannibalism, which is 
vouched for as their practice as a religious rite. 

How was the history of the early Mexicans handed 
down and perpetuated ? It is probable that the ancient 
civilisations of America were near the dawn of a literature 
when their culture was destroyed. They had already 
some phonetic signs in use, from which, in the natural 
course of time, an alphabet might have evolved ; but the 
picture-writing, or clumsy hieroglyphical representation 
of things in line and colour to express ideas, was their 
main method. Yet their laws, State accounts, history, and 
other matters were so recorded. When the Spaniards set 
foot on the coast a hieroglyphical representation of them 
and their ships, delineated on native paper, was in the 
hands of Montezuma a few hours afterwards — a species of 
rapid edition of a newspaper indeed ! But these written 
records were supplemented by oral descriptions, and 
the two methods in conjunction formed the Aztec 



52 MEXICO 

literature. Paper for such documents were made of 
skins, or cotton cloth, or of the fibrous leaves of the 
maguey, and this last, a species of "papyrus," was carefully 
prepared, and was of a durable nature. Aztec literature 
of this nature existed in considerable quantities at the 
beginning of the Hispanic occupation. It was thoroughly 
destroyed by the execrable act of the first Archbishop 
of Mexico — Zumarraga, who, looking upon these papers 
as "devilish scrolls," had them collected, piled up, and 
burnt ! Some few, however, escaped, and were preserved 
and published in Europe. Some famous Maya documents 
of this nature, from Yucatan, have also brought to light 
some details of those people. 

The Mexicans' scientific knowledge was simple and 
primitive. Some arithmetical system had been evolved, 
but, on the other hand, they had calculated and adopted 
a chronology — probably it had been inherited from the 
Toltecs — which displayed a remarkable precision, in that 
they adjusted the difference of the civil and solar year in 
a way superior to that of contemporary European nations. 

In primitive Mexico — like primitive Peru — agriculture 
was far advanced as an industry. Land was apportioned, 
as has been shown, on a philosophical basis for the needs 
of the inhabitants. In that respect the system was far 
superior to that of the Republic of Mexico of to-day, 
where the whole surface of the land is mainly held by 
large landholders. Irrigation was an advanced art, 
artificial canals being made to conduct the water from the 
streams to the arid lands. The main article of diet among 
the mass of the people — then, as now — was maiz, which 
grows freely from highlands to lowlands. Bananas, 
chocolate — indeed, the latter, chocolatl, is an Aztec word 
— were among their numerous agricultural products. 
The maguey — the Agave americana — was an invaluable 
i ally of life and civilisation. It afforded them the famous 
beverage of pulque ; they made ropes, mats, paper, and 
other things from its fibre ; and the leaves furnished an 
article of diet. 

Mining was confined to the getting of gold from river- 



THE STRANGE CITIES 53 

beds, where it had been concentrated by Nature, and 
possibly on a small scale by amalgamation with quick- 
silver. Copper and tin were found and used, and indeed 
to-day the natives in certain places beat out large copper 
vessels,^ and offer for sale masses of rude copper matte,^ 
from their primitive earthen furnaces. The obsidian 
mines of Itzala furnished them with tools for the cutting 
of stone, sculpture, and other purposes, and for their 
terrible weapons of war. 

Sculpture and painting were very rudimentary, the 
former being confined chiefly to the representation of 
repugnant deities, although the carved stone edifices and 
temples were in some cases singularly beautiful, as 
elsewhere described. The sculptured figures of Mexican 
deities, in some cases, remind the traveller strongly of 
similar representations of the Incas,^ such as exist in the 
fastnesses of the Andes of Peru. The famous Mexican 
Calendar stone, weighing about fifty tons, which was 
brought for many miles over broken country to the Aztec 
capital, is one of the most remarkable examples of their 
sculpture. Numerous smaller examples of prehistoric 
sculpture exist, some beautiful in design and execution. 
The feathered serpent is a frequent symbolical device 
upon these native works of art. 

Pottery was made without the potter's wheel, by 
modelling ; and painting and burning were practised. 
Musical instruments were also made of clay. Trade was 
conducted in ancient Mexico in great fairs or market- 
places, not in shops, and indeed this custom is still that 
preferred by the Mexican natives of the peon class to-day. 
The currency consisted of quills of gold-dust, small pieces 
of tin, and stamped copper, and barter was a principal 
mode of transaction. The merchants were an important 
class, carrying on extensive operations and expeditions 

' I have used and purchased these articles in the State of Durango. 

^ The figure of the conventionalised serpent-god on the onyx tablet 
found in 1895 in the Valley of Mexico and taken to the Museum of Chicago 
(see Holmes's " Ancient Cities of Mexico ") strongly reminds me of the 
figure on the stone from Chavin in Peru (see "The Andes and the 
Amazon " ). 



54 MEXICO 

far beyond the borders of the empire, under armed 
escorts, and they occupied often a position of poHtical, 
and even diplomatic nature, such as was a pecuhar 
feature of Aztec civiHsation. 

Social conditions showed much of quiet civilisation 
and tolerance. The women were never employed in the 
fields ; and they took equal part with the men in social 
matters. They were modest and not unattractive, traits 
which remain to this day among the peasant class of 
Mexico. The menage of Aztec homes, method of feasting, 
foods, napery, ablutions, and other matters, as recorded by 
the historians show a marked stage of refinement, except 
for the abominable practice of cannibalism. Chocolate 
and pulque were the favourite drinks. 

Any survey of the Aztec customs shows a remarkable 
fact — they seem to have received their civilisation and 
customs from more than one source. For among the 
most refined habits and methods the most barbarous and 
disgusting acts are found. A refined and humane spirit 
of culture seems, by some method, or at some time, to 
have been grafted on to a spirit of primitive savagery, and 
each to have retained its character and practices. But 
their social system was not an unhappy one for their 
people. It was an epoch of handiwork, where all were 
employed and all were fed ; and if there were few 
comforts and enlightenments in their life, there was, at 
least, little misery, such as is so freely encountered in the 
life of modern civilisation. 

But destiny was now to compass the end of the Aztec 
regime, for from the shores of the stormy waters of the 
seas towards the sunrise, came rumours of strange white 
men. Who were they ? asked the Aztec emperor and 
his advisers, in solemn conclave. Were they not those 
heralded by the long-expected Quetzacoatl ? If so, of 
what use was it to defy the fates, which had set forth long 
ago that the land should be ruled, some day, by a white 
race coming from the East ? And when a fleet of great 
" water-houses," with white wings, touched ?.t Yucatan, 
and the swift runners brought the tidings over nigh a 



THE STRANGE CITIES 55 

thousand miles of forest and mountain in a few days, the 
credulous ear of Montezuma listened easily. And when 
the Spaniards landed at Vera Cruz, and won their way up 
to the fastnesses of Anahuac, it was still the hand of 
destiny. The time was fulfilled, the arm of civilisation 
had reached out towards the West, and it fell athwart the 
Great Plateau of unknown Mexico. 



CHAPTER IV 

CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 

Landing of Cortes — Orizaba peak — The dawn of conquest — Discovery of 
Yucatan — Velasquez and Grijalva — Life and character of Cortes — 
Cortes selected to head the expedition — Departure from Cuba — 
Arrival at Yucatan — The coast of Vera Cruz — Marina — Vera Cruz 
established — Aztec surprise at guns and horses — Montezuma — 
Dazzling Aztec gifts — Messages to Montezuma — Hostility of the 
Aztecs — Key to the situation — The Cempoallas — Father Olmedo — 
Religion and hypocrisy of the Christians — March to Cempoalla — 
Montezuma's tax-collectors — Duplicity of Cortes — Vacillation of 
Montezuma — Destruction of Totonac idols — Cortes despatches pre- 
sents to the King of Spain — Cortes destroys his ships — March 
tovi^ards the Aztec capital — Scenery upon line of march — The for- 
tress of Tlascala — Brusque variations of climate — The Tlascalans — 
Severe fighting — Capitulation of Tlascala — Faithful allies — Mes- 
sengers from Montezuma — March to Cholula — Massacre of 
Cholula — The snow-capped volcanoes — First sight of Tenoch- 
titlan. 

"Brightly my star, new hope supplying, 
Leads on the hour shall all, all repay ! " 

Such, indeed, might have been the sentiment which 
inspired the breasts of Hernando Cortes and his Spaniards 
on that memorable Good Friday, April 21, 1519, as they 
first set foot upon the Mexican mainland, upon those 
sandy shores which in the act they christened Vera Cruz. 
Before them, far away beyond the sandy desert and the 
tree-crowned slopes, stretched a high cordillera, a curtain 
drawn between them and the unknown world of the 
interior. What lay there ? Matters of grave interest 
and preoccupation ! For beyond that far, blue maritime 

56 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 57 

defence of Anahuac — they had that moment learned it — 
there dwelt a mighty potentate and people, steeped with 
savage soldier-craft, rendered more terrible by the barbaric 
civilisation which it upheld. Here were no gentle savages 
such as they had hunted in the forests of Cuba and 
Hispaniola ; and the mail-clad, helmeted Spaniards 
listened at first with mixed feelings to the accounts of the 
friendly Indians who greeted them at the shore, feelings 
in which the spirit of conquest rose high and dominant. 

The ten caravels of Cortes are swinging at anchor in 
the bay, whose white-capped waters they have just 
passed. The Spaniards have reconnoitred the beach, 
and their eyes have followed the rising landscape to 
where, beyond the forest-clad mountains, and emerging 
from the clouds which girt them, a single gleaming, 
snowy point appeared, piercing the blue heavens like 
the gnomon of a mighty dial. It was Citlalteptl, the 
"mountain of the star," the natives told them. It was 
the lofty Orizaba, the sunlight on its perpetual snow-cap 
bringing it to deceptive nearness. 

Halting thus upon this sunny shore, who were these 
Spaniards, and what was their mission and character ? 
Let us briefly sketch them. Those were stirring times 
in "ocean chivalry." The dream of Columbus had been 
accomplished for twenty-five years ; Balboa had crossed 
the isthmus a few years since and Panama was known. 
The islands of Cuba and Santa Domingo had been settled 
and made starting-points for further discoveries, and two 
years before — in 15 17 — a Cuban hidalgo, Hernandez de 
Cordova, blown by a fierce gale, with his three ships, far 
from his objective point of the Bahamas, landed on an 
unknown land where the Indians said " Tectecan " — " I 
do not understand you." What was this land ? It was 
the peninsula now called Yucatan — "tectecan" — part of 
the Mexico of to-day. And on Cordova's return to Cuba, 
the governor of that island, Don Diego de Velasquez, 
bestirred himself right actively, impelled by certain 
longings for conquest he had long nourished, and by 
the adventures, and curious things of laboured gold 



68 MEXICO 

brought back by Cordova. Fitting out four vessels, 
Velasquez put them under the command of his nephew, 
Juan de Grijalva, and quickly sent them forth to win him 
riches and fame in those unknown lands — May, 1518. 
Grijalva duly touched and coasted upon the islands and 
shores of Yucatan, and his name remains to-day in the 
great Grijalva river. Thence he followed the horseshoe 
curve of the Gulf of Mexico, and arrived and landed at 
San Juan de Ulua, the same point where we left Cortes 
and his Spaniards halting. To Grijalva is due the prestige 
of first landing on the shores of Mexico, and of having 
intercourse with its people of the Aztecs. But, Grijalva 
tarrying long, Don Diego de Velasquez had despatched 
another expedition, commanding his nephew to return, 
which the latter did and was received coldly by the 
jealous and ungenerous Governor, as he is painted by 
his historians. Still bent on greater conquest, Velasquez 
cast about for men, money, and ships, and his eye fell 
on the capable Hernando Cortes, the young Spaniard 
who, born in Estremadura in 1485, had set out, impatient 
of the old world, to seek his fortunes in the new : and 
had amassed — " God knows by what methods," as one of 
his chroniclers says — a small fortune under the Governor's 
rule. Here was the man, and, incidentally, here was part 
of the money ! For Cortes was popular and daring, 
and notwithstanding the several occasions on which he 
had come into collision with the Governor and the law, 
Velasquez held him in certain favour. 

The life of Cortes up to that point — let us touch upon 
it before accompanying him, and know what manner 
of man he was — had been urged principally by selfish 
adventure and amorous intrigues. He had arrived in 
Hispanola in 1504, and upon being offered a grant of 
land and repartiniiento of Indians replied that " he had 
left Spain in search of gold — not to become a land-tilling 
peasant." In 15 n, under Velasquez, who had been 
appointe*ci to the conquest of Cuba, Cortes found outlet 
for his adventurous spirit, and in the Indian warfare of 
the island gave promise of the valour and activity which 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 59 

underlay a jocular and seemingly trivial character. At 
the same time he became accustomed to the barbarous 
methods of conquest and cruelty displayed by the 
Spaniards in those regions, and to the abuse of power 
and arbitrary jealousies and exactions displayed both to 
natives and colonials by the petty Imperial authorities, 
Cortes had soon fallen foul of Velasquez. On two 
occasions he had been thrown into prison by the 
Governor's orders, but had escaped, partly by his own 
activity, and partly — it is held — by connivance of his 
gaolers. Associated with these episodes was a beautiful 
Spanish girl, Catalina Juarez, whom he had refused to 
marry in spite of the representations of her family, due 
to his relations with her : Velasquez also being interested 
in the family, in the person of Catalina's sister. How- 
ever, after a time, Cortes married and lived happily with 
her upon his estate. Land and Indians were granted him, 
and he acquired some wealth from agriculture and mining, 
maintaining good relations with the Governor, Velasquez. 

Now it was that Pedro de Alvarado, the future 
conqueror of Guatemala, who had accompanied Grijalva 
to Mexico, returned, and now it was that Velasquez cast 
about for men, money and ships, to push the conquest 
of Mexico. Choice fell upon Cortes. The long- 
nourished hopes of the young Spaniard — he was thirty- 
four or five — were fulfilled. He realised all his resources 
to subscribe towards the expense, covering indeed the 
major portion of the cost of ships and stores. The little 
port of Santiago de Cuba echoed with the bustle of 
preparation. The vessels, most of which were simply 
open brigantines, the largest not more than one hundred 
tons, were rapidly fitted out. Hundreds of men flocked 
instantly to his leadership. Away to the West their 
thoughts and enthusiasm carried one and all ; gold, 
adventure, fame — who would not go ! 

The light and easy character of Cortes changed under 
the grave import and responsibility of this great mission, 
in which he seemed to recognise some fulfilment by 
Providence of his lifelong hopes. Here he was, a 



60 MEXICO 

relatively humble subject of Spain, of relatively obscure 
parentage, although conscious of that powerful instinct 
of being a cahallero — a gentleman — singled out for this 
great enterprise ! There was but one fear — that its 
command should be snatched from him at the last 
moment ! And, indeed, this was averted by a mere 
hair's breadth, say the chroniclers. For the jealous 
Velasquez, influenced by other jealous advisers, and fear- 
ing that the independent spirit of Cortes would arrogate 
to himself the glory and profit of the enterprise, once 
away from his influence, resolved at the last moment 
to quit him of his command and substitute another. 
Cortes heard of it. Apprehension lent him a super- 
human energy. Once away from Cuba's shores — ah ! 
then he could parley with its Governor. He visited his 
trusty officers. Butchers, bakers, ammunition-makers 
were bribed and hurried, the stores were rushed on 
board, commander and crew embarked at midnight, and 
when morning dawned the good people of Santiago de 
Cuba awoke to see the white sails of the squadron rising 
to meet the breeze, whilst the rattle of the cables of the 
up-getting moorings fell upon their ears. Down rushed 
Velasquez from his bed, and galloped to the wharf. 
" Stop them ! Stop them ! " But it was too late — who 
could stop them ? 

Before his sails filled to the breeze Cortes approached 
the shore in an armed boat. " Farewell ! good Gov- 
ernor," was the burden of his words. " Time is short, 
and what is to be done 'twere well it were done quickly ! " 
And so he sailed away towards the West, into a sunset- 
land of conquest-dreams, and left Velasquez fuming on 
the quay. I 

But the jealous Governor's resources were not quite 
exhausted. He despatched swift messengers to other 
Cuban ports where the expedition must touch for 
further supplies, ill-provisioned as it was by the hasty 

' This story of the departure of Cortes is doubted by some writers, but 
it appeals to the mind of the adventurous traveller in those regions, even 
to-day, with too strong a ring of probability to be ignored. 



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CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 61 

departure, with orders for the authorities at these points 
to detain Cortes at all hazards. It was useless. Far 
from detention, he received supplies and reinforcements. 
A number of well-known hidalgos joined him, among 
them Pedro de Alvarado, Cristoval de Olid, Velasquez de 
Leon, Gonzalo de Sandoval, Hernandez Puertocarrero, 
Alonzo de Avila, and others who took a valiant part 
afterwards in the conquest. At his last port of depar- 
ture Cortes wrote a letter to Velasquez, of a conciliatory 
nature : reviewed his forces, which amounted to nearly 
nine hundred Spaniards and two hundred Indians, with 
ten heavy guns, several falconets, ample ammunition, 
and sixteen horses, in eleven vessels. Having addressed 
the forces in words of enthusiasm, dangling before them 
the glories of conquest, specially pointing out to them 
that they were carrying the Cross to set before savages, 
Cortes invoked the patronage of St. Peter, and the 
squadron set sail for the shores of Yucatan. 

How they arrived at the island of Cozumel, fought 
with the Indians of the mainland, tumbled the gross 
idols of the savages from their pyramid-temple, and set 
up an altar to the Virgin ; and how they recovered 
an unfortunate Spaniard who had sojourned eight years, 
after shipwreck, with the natives of Yucatan ; how 
Alvarado antagonised the natives and Cortes pacified 
them ; and how they sailed thence to the real shores of 
Mexico, where we left them halting, are fascinating 
matters of their voyage which we must thus lightly pass 
over. 

Behold a level, sun-beat, wind-swept plain, the drifting 
sand blown into medanos, or sand-hills, by the hurricanes 
of the gulf, the perennial norts. Here are the Conquis- 
tadores grouped, Cortes and his associates. Among 
them is the figure of a woman, and her name is worthy 
to rank in the first verse and chapter of our story. It is 
Marina, the beautiful Indian girl who had been given to 
the Spaniards, among other female slaves, at Tabasco, 
in Yucatan, and who, Cortes had learned, spoke the 
language of the Mexicans, in addition to her native 



62 MEXICO 

Yucatec. So Marina was the interpreter through whose 
medium understanding was had with the natives. This 
was in conjunction with the Spaniard Aguilar — the 
rescued castaway, who spoke the language of Marina. 
But this was only at first, for as Cortes loved her and 
she loved him, she soon acquired the Castilian of the 
Conquistador as his mistress. 

Thus was parley opened with the natives and their 
caciques, and knowledge gained of Montezuma, the great 
Emperor of the Aztecs, and of the power and circum- 
stances of their empire, whose rule extended to the coast 
whereon they stood. Cortes and his captains made 
presents to the caciques, and received such in return, 
and it was decided to establish the colony of Villa Rica 
de Vera Cruz. A pretty piece of juggling — singular yet 
not unjustifiable — took place in the inauguration of this, 
Cortes establishing his captains as its municipality, 
resigning the commission he had received from the 
Governor of Cuba into the hands of the body he had 
called into being himself, and then accepting from it a 
commission as captain-general, all taking title as officials 
of the Crown of Spain ! This proceeding, solemnly 
carried out on the edge of the wilderness, and in sound 
of the roaring waters of the Gulf, is not without a 
Gilbertian spice. 

Rude habitations had been built, guns mounted, and 
supplies secured from the Indian population which 
flocked around the Spaniards. And suddenly a new 
sensation was sprung upon these simple, people. The 
horses were brought on shore, and the cavalry man- 
oeuvred upon the beach ; cannons were fired and trum- 
pets sounded, the shot from the guns, purposely directed 
against the trees, smashing them to splinters. Filled with 
awe, the Aztec chief of the place — the friendly cacique 
Teuhtile — bade his picture-writers depict it all ; and 
upon the native paper these terrible gachupines^ and 
their great " water-houses," and thundering engines, and 
singular musical instruments, were drawn in lifelike form 

* The Aztec word for centaurs, which was applied to the horsemen. 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 63 

by these native "newspaper artists," to be despatched 
by the native postmen over the rocky fastnesses of the 
Cordilleras to the great Montezuma. Then Cortes 
announced his mission. He was the ambassador of a 
mighty Emperor from beyond the seas, come to greet 
the Emperor of the Aztecs and to carry a present from 
his monarch, the mightiest in the world. When could 
he be admitted before Montezuma ? The awe in which 
this potentate was held by his vassals was shown in Teuh- 
tile's reply : " Was it possible that a monarch, the equal 
of the Aztec king, existed elsewhere ? How could the 
white men ask, at such short notice, to be admitted to 
the semi-sacred presence ? " But he brought forward 
presents of beautiful featherwork and ornaments of gold 
for the Spaniards ; and Cortes, not to be outdone, pro- 
duced a richly-carved chair and other things admired 
by the simple natives, including articles of cut glass, 
which were held to be gems of great price, as of course 
the Aztecs had no knowledge of glass. All these matters 
were carried out with due ceremony, messengers with 
the presents were sent to Montezuma, and the Spaniards, 
pending the return of the emissaries of Teuhtile with their 
greeting, devoted themselves to the perfecting of their 
dwellings. 

Little more than a week elapsed. In that time the 
swift native carriers had traversed and re-traversed the 
steep and rugged road from the coast to the valley of 
Anahuac, a distance of about two hundred miles each way. 
The substance of their message from Montezuma was 
" Come not hither ; the road is long and dangerous ; 
return to your country with our greetings to your great 
King." A magnificent present accompanied this some- 
what chilling reply — articles of gold and silver, beautifully 
wrought, among them a huge gold plate, and one of 
silver, circular in form and " as large as carriage- 
wheels," twenty-eight spans in circumference, represent- 
ing respectively the images of the sun and the moon 
and engraved with figures of animals, doubtless indica- 
tive of some chronological symbol — the value of the 



64 MEXICO 

gold wheel was afterwards estimated at more than 
;^5o,ooo — other articles of clothing and armour, includ- 
ing a number of beautiful golden shields inlaid and 
decorated, necklaces of rubies and pearls, and a quantity 
of the intricate and beautiful feather-work. 

What was the result of all this, upon the Spaniards — 
this wealth of treasure and this unencouraging greeting ? 
"Go back again," was the substance of Cortes's reply to 
the ambassadors of Montezuma ; " tell your monarch 
the mountain road and its dangers do not appal us — 
we who have sailed two thousand leagues of troubled 
ocean to arrive here — and we cannot return to our great 
sovereign without having personally greeted yours." 
Again the Spaniards waited the messengers' return, 
weary of the wind- and sand-swept plains of Vera Cruz ; 
assailed by the calenturas ever encountered upon the 
American coasts, the bilious malarial disorders which 
Nature has made the scourge of the tropics, and which 
the science of modern man has only just begun to 
investigate. Again the messengers — within ten days — 
returned. Stripped of its diplomatic covering of cere- 
mony and further presents, the Aztec Emperor's reply 
may be condensed as " Get thee hence ! " And, as if 
to bear out some royal mandate, the natives disappeared 
from the vicinity, the supplies were cut off, leaving the 
Spaniards halting upon this debatable ground, in chagrin 
and indecision. 

But not for long. The stern design of the Spaniards 
had been forced, and was growing. " I vowed to your 
Royal Highness that I would have Montezuma prisoner, 
or dead, or subject to your Majesty," wrote Cortes to 
Carlos V. of Spain, from Vera Cruz ; and " Think you we 
were such Spaniards as to lie there idly ? " wrote Bernal 
Diaz, the soldier-penman, afterwards. Yet there was 
some disaffection in the camp, a portion of the men, 
wearied of inaction and fearful of dangers, desiring to 
return to Cuba. Here Cortes's diplomacy came to the 
rescue. " On board, all of you ! " he exclaimed. " Back 
to Cuba and its Governor, and see what happens ! " The 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 65 

threat and sneer had the effect he expected. Scarcely 
a man would return, but on the contrary they clamoured 
for the establishment of a colony and for a march on 
Montezuma and his capital, whilst the few who remained 
disaffected were clapped in irons, among them the 
hidalgo Velasquez, a relative of the Governor of Cuba. 

And now it was that the key to the situation was put 
into the hands of Cortes. An embassy from a semi- 
civilised, powerful nation to the north, upon the gulf- 
shores — the Totonacs, of Cempoalla, as they announced 
themselves — suddenly arrived in the colony of the 
Christians. They brought an invitation from their 
chief for the Spaniards to visit him, with the infor- 
mation — and here was the circumstance which should 
make conquest possible — that the Totonacs were weary 
of the Aztec yoke, and yearned for independence. 
" Ha ! " thought Cortes and his hidalgo associates, 
"they are delivered into our hands ! They are divided, 
and so they will fall." Father Olmedo, the wise and 
pious confessor of the forces, to whose prudence the 
security of the Spaniards owed much, and who was the 
representative of the great Church which became so 
potent in those lands, blessed his comrades' conclaves, 
and celebrated solemn Masses. Indeed, every move of 
the Spaniards was accomplished under such auspices, 
and was always referred by Cortes to the influence of the 
desire to carry the Cross of Christ and all it embodied, to 
those heathen peoples ; and in a spirited address to the 
soldiers he declared that "without this motive their 
expedition was but one of oppression and robbery." 
The true proportions of piety and hypocrisy contained 
in these expressions and acts must be left to the know- 
ledge of human nature of the reader. Suffice to say that 
the Spaniards did, to a large extent, look upon them- 
selves as Crusaders, and that a militant religious fervour 
animated them, in conjunction with a spirit of avarice 
and cruelty. 

And so they marched on Cempoalla, along the sandy 
shores of the gulf, passing through villages, with temples 

6 



66 MEXICO 

devoted to the abominable sacrificial rites which they 
had seen in Yucatan. Thence they encountered the 
fringe of the tropical forests, and at length entered the 
strange town of Cempoalla, with its numerous inhabi- 
tants, and streets, and houses, and excellent surround- 
ing cultivation. Here they remained some days, the 
Spaniards delighted with the fertile region and the 
hospitable natives. The great Cacique had received them 
in his residence — a building of stone upon a pyramid, 
after the fashion of the structures of that country, and, 
the fair Marina interpreting, Cortes stated his mission — 
"to redress abuses and punish oppressors, and to 
establish the true faith." The substance of the chief's 
reply was that, though weary of the oppressive yoke of 
the Aztecs : Montezuma was a terrible monarch, who 
could pour down his warriors upon them. But Cortes 
gathered encouragement from his attitude, and in the 
meantime a juncture had been effected with the ships 
upon the coast a few leagues distant, at a port discovered 
by Montejo. Further deliberations took place during 
the ensuing days, when a momentous event occurred in 
the arrival of special emissaries from Montezuma to the 
Cacique, setting forth the anger of the Emperor, and 
demanding instant reparation and tribute for the dis- 
loyalty of the Totonacs in having entertained the 
invaders. The fearful and hesitating Totonacs — it was 
but natural — would have appeased their anger ; but 
under the instigation of Cortes these Aztec tax-collectors 
were seized and imprisoned. Characteristic of the 
Spaniard of those days was the act of double-dealing 
then performed by Cortes. He secretly released the 
prisoners at night, soothed their feelings, sent them 
on board a ship, and bid them report his goodwill 
to Montezuma I 

The Totonacs were now too deeply compromised to do 
aught but become the sworn allies of the Spaniards. The 
cherished dream of the return of Quetzacoatl had not 
been fulfilled, but here were these valiant strangers, who 
had defied the omnipotent Montezuma ! The Spaniards 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 67 

then established a colony upon the coast near at hand, 
aided by the natives, and a town soon arose which was a 
centre of operations and general point of distribution for 
the subsequent operations. Engaged upon the work was 
Cortes, when new emissaries arrived from the outraged 
Montezuma. The Totonacs were only to be spared out of 
deference for the white men who had liberated the tax- 
collectors ! Montezuma was debating much within him- 
self and with his advisers at this time. " Surely these 
terrible white strangers, who had come out of the East, 
were the long-expected Quetzacoatl and his people ? It 
was necessary to placate or temporise with them, for what 
destiny had written concerning the passing of his empire 
must come to pass." So had pondered the great Aztec 
chief, and it was this fear of destiny which had dictated 
his attitude, vacillating as it was, towards the strangers. 
But the emissaries returned to the lord of Anahuac with 
the same message as before — that the white men would 
visit him in person. 

Presents of wives — the soft, pretty Indian damsels, 
daughters of the principal chiefs — were made to Cortes 
and his officers by the Cacique, in gratitude for assist- 
ance against a neighbouring tribe, which the Spaniards 
rendered. They must, however, be baptized first, said 
Cortes, and the opportunity was taken to enforce the 
Christian religion upon their allies. Protests and menace 
followed, but the idols of Cempoalla were torn from 
their pyramid sanctuaries and hurled to the ground ; the 
foul sacrificial altars cleansed ; the image of the Virgin 
installed there ; and a solemn Mass celebrated by Father 
Olmedo. 

Other stirring events crowded rapidly on. A swift 
ship was despatched to Spain with the wheel of gold ; 
the beautiful feather-work, and the other rare presents of 
the Aztecs, all given over by the Spaniards as a royal gift 
to the young Spanish king ; together with a voluminous 
epistle. This was sent with the design of forestalling the 
machinations of Velasquez ; and though the vessel 
touched at Cuba, it escaped detention, and safely 



68 MEXICO 

arrived in Spain. But meantime disaffection arose in 
the new colony, and a conspiracy was formed to seize a 
vessel and escape to Cuba, by some of the Spaniards who 
were discontented and fearful of the future. The plot 
was discovered and the authors seized and executed, 
and a dramatic sequel to this conspiracy came about. 
Cortes and some of his advisers resolved to prevent the 
recurrence of any further danger of this nature ; to put it 
out of the power of any to desert ; to place the knowledge 
of the inevitable before his troops, that the conquest 
must be undertaken or death found in the attempt. He 
sank his ships ! Yes ; the brigantines which had borne 
them thither, and were their only means of retreat from 
those savage shores, were dismantled and destroyed. 

And now the Spaniards resolutely turn their faces to 
the mountains. Threats and entreaties are stilled ; the 
colony is established, the base secured, the ships are 
sunk, save that single white-winged caravel far over the 
waters of the gulf, prow to the shores of Spain. The 
Mass is said, the books are closed. " Forward ! my 
comrades," said Cortes; " before us lies a mountain road ; 
and adventure, gold, and glory ! " 

The traveller of to-day, as he traverses by rail the 
desert coast zone of the Mexican littoral, and ascends the 
steep slopes of the eastern Cordillera of the Sierra Madre, 
to gain access to the Great Plateau or Valley of Mexico 
beyond it, reposing amid the cushions of his Pullman 
car, will neither endure the fatigue which the Con- 
quistadores suffered nor be assailed, night and day, with 
the menace of savage foes on every hand. But the grand 
and varied setting still remains ; the strange and beautiful 
fairyland of Nature's rapid transformation scenes, the 
changing landscape and successive climates of this 
remarkable region. The sandy wastes give place to 
tropical forests and fertile valleys, with their bright 
accompaniment of profuse flower-and bird-life. These, 
in turn, disappear from the changing panorama, and the 
traveller reaches the appalling escarpments of the 
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CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 69 

dizzy ridges, where the ascending steel lines of the rail- 
road spiral has brought him, to where distant fertile 
vales He in the glimmering haze, thousands of feet 
below. And then the scene changes, and the dark 
rocky ribs and bleak plateau show that the summit 
is reached, ten thousand feet above the level of the 
ocean's ebb and flow. 

But what we shall have accomplished in a day the 
weary Conquistadores have spent many marches in over- 
coming. Cortes and his men are halting at the end of a 
broad valley. What is the cause of the delay ? An 
extraordinary fortification confronts them ; a wall, twice 
as high as a man, made of stone blocks, and of enormous 
thickness, absolutely closes the passage of the valley, 
and extends for several miles on either hand to where 
it abuts upon the rocky ramparts of the Sierra itself. 
Was this some enchanted castle raised up by magician 
hand ? Certainly not ; it was the outer defence of the 
land of the Tlascalans; the bulwark of the brave and 
independent mountain republic, which had ever defied 
the power of the Aztecs. 

To reach this point the Spaniards had toiled on day 
after day, sleeping at night upon their arms. From the 
tropical lands and climate of the tierra caliente they had 
reached the frowning fastnesses of the great mountains 
and lofty peaks, which overhang the crest of the eastern 
slope of the tableland of Mexico. The rainy season was 
upon them, and the trails were wet and heavy, and the 
atmosphere and humour of the tropic lands had been 
debilitating, as indeed they are to the European of to- 
day. The brusque change of climate from heat to cold 
tried them sorely, although the latter was the more 
invigorating. Day by day a huge coffin-shaped mountain 
had overhung the horizon — the Cofre de Perote, an 
extinct volcano, in whose vicinity the desolating action 
of old lava-flows startles the traveller's eye. As they 
reached the summit of the range — the crests of the 
Eastern Sierra Madre — the rain and snow and bitter 
winds, the functions of Nature which she ever lets loose 



70 MEXICO 

upon the head of the traveller who defies her in such 
inclement regions, assailed the Spaniards, and some of 
the unfortunate Indians, natives of the tropic lands of 
the coast, succumbed to the cold. On, on they toiled 
up this untrodden way — untrodden, that is, by the foot of 
civilised man before that day, and at length, having 
crossed the summit, the divortia aquarum of the con- 
tinent, they began the descent towards the mild climate 
of the Valley of Mexico. 

Upon the confines of this valley was a town sur- 
rounded by extensive cultivated fields of maiz. Stone 
buildings, numerous teocallis, and a large population 
attested the importance of the place ; and when the 
Spaniards asked if it was tributary to Montezuma the 
chief replied with another question, asking with surprise 
if there existed any other lord worthy of tribute. Another 
chief and tribe some miles beyond, gave a good reception to 
the Spaniards, and there they gladly halted for some days. 
The house of the chief was upon a hill, " protected by a 
better fort than can be found in half Spain," wrote Cortes 
to his Emperor at Castile. Here it was that the Spaniards 
received news of the existence of the people of Cholula 
and Tlascala, who inhabited the regions of their in- 
tended line of march. " Go by the road of the Tlasca- 
lans," the friendly chief advised ; " the Cholulans are a 
treacherous people." Cortes despatched messengers to the 
chief of Tlascala, but no reply was received, and after 
waiting some days the Spaniards continued their march, 
to where we left them halting before the stone wall across 
the valley. 

And then began the most stirring events of their 
march. The Tlascalans were a people who had de- 
veloped a remarkable civilisation and social and military 
organisation, akin to that of the Aztecs. On the arrival 
of the messengers of Cortes much dissension had pre- 
vailed in their councils, some of the chiefs — the com- 
munity was ruled by a council of four — maintaining that 
this was an opportunity for vengeance against their 
hereditary enemies, the hated Aztecs and their prince, 



CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 71 

Montezuma. " Let us ally ourselves with these terrible 
strangers," they urged, " and march against the Mexicans." 
For the doings of the Spaniards had echoed through the 
land already, with a tale of smitten tribes and broken 
idols. But the wily old Xicotencatl thought otherwise. 
" What do we know of their purpose ? " was his counsel ; 
so it was agreed that the army of the Tlascalans and 
Otomies, who were in force near the frontier, under 
the command of the fiery young warrior — son of old 
Xicotencatl, and bearing the same name — should attack 
them. "If we fail," the old barbarian urged, "we will 
disavow the act of our general ; if we win " ! 

The stone fortification at the valley's end had been 
undefended, and with Cortes at their head the Spaniards 
entered Tlascalan territory. Skirmishing was followed 
by a pitched battle between the Christians and the 
Tlascalans, in which the firearms and lances of the 
Spaniards wrought terrible havoc on their antagonists. 
Astounded at the sight of the horses — those extraordinary 
beings, whether of animal or demoniacal origin they 
knew not — and appalled by the thundering of the guns, 
which seemed to have some superhuman source, the 
Tlascalans at first fell back. But they overcame their 
fears, fell savagely upon the invaders, and were with 
difficulty repulsed, having managed to kill two of the 
horses. Greatly to Cortes's regret was this, for the noble 
animals were few, and — more serious still — their death 
removed that semi-superstitious dread regarding them, 
which the natives held. However, the Spaniards after- 
wards buried them from sight. 

Night fell, a season when the Indians fought not, but 
on the morrow the messengers which had been sent to 
the Tlascalans arrived — having escaped — with the news 
that the enemy was approaching in great force. So 
indeed it befel, and upon the plain in front of the 
Spaniards appeared a mighty host, varyingly estimated 
between thirty and a hundred thousand warriors. The 
Spaniards with their allies numbered — fearful odds ! — 
about three thousand. " The God of the Christians will 



72 MEXICO 

bear us through," said the brave and beautiful Marina. 
A frightful battle now ensued, the issue of which hung in 
the scale for hours. Charging, volleying, borne this way 
and that by the flood of the enemy's numbers, the gallant 
band of the Spaniards snatched victory from almost 
certain defeat, their superior weapons and cavalry, 
together with the bad tactics of the Indians, who knew 
not how to employ their unwieldy army to best advan- 
tage, at length decided the day for the Christians, 
who inflicted terrible punishment upon their foes. The 
Tlascalans' policy now showed signs of weakening, but 
further assaults were necessary, and some treachery, 
under the guise of friendship, having been discovered 
on the part of the fifty Tlascalan envoys to the Spanish 
camp, Cortes barbarously cut off the hands of these and 
sent them back to tell the tale. 

The upshot of these engagements was that the Tlas- 
calans capitulated, apologised for their conduct, invited 
the strangers to take possession of their capital, and 
assured them that they would now be allies, not enemies, 
of the white men, who were undoubtedly the representa- 
tives of the great and long-expected Quetzacoatl. The 
joy in the Spanish camp at this turn of affairs knew no 
bounds ; well did the Spaniards know that the continued 
opposition of the Indians would have been their ruin, 
whilst in their alliance was salvation and the key to the 
Conquest. 

Behold the war-worn and hungry Spaniards, lean and 
tattered from marching and privations in the inclement 
uplands, now installed in comfort in the centre of the 
powerful Tlascalan capital. Forth had come to greet 
them young Xicotencatl, who, to do him justice, took 
upon himself the responsibility of the war ; and as the 
Spaniards entered the capital the streets were lined with 
men, women, and children, and decorated with garlands 
of flowers as for a triumphal procession. The old chief 
who had urged for opposition now changed his tactics, 
and as Cortes entered he embraced him, passing his hand 
over the face of the Spaniard to see what manner of man 



COHTKS AND TIIK CONQIJKST l:\ 

he was, for llic; ;i<j;C(I 'ri;isc;il;iii was bliiul, having 
readied, it has been said — probably with cxa<^<4oratioii — 
a hmuhed and forty years of a^c I "Tlic city is iiuuli 
lar;4(!r than Granada," wrote Cortes to Carlos V., with a 
description of its niarki'ts, shops, houses, and intelligent 
and industrious population. 

Six weeks the Spaniards sojouined there, recuperating 
their enerj^ies, iivinj^ on the best the plentiful land 
alforded — Tlascala siLjnilied in the Indian toiif^ue "the 
land of bread "-- taking wives from ainonj^ the niaitlens 
of the chiefs' dau<^hters, and endeavourin;^, lirst with the 
foolish haste of Cortes and then with the slow jirudence 
of Father Oiniedo, to instil some tenets of the Chi islian 
religion into their hosts, lint religious feivour had (o 
^ive way to mateiial neeessilies, and the 'I'lascalan idols 
remained imsmilten, although their human sacrifices 
were somewhat stayed. 

Rested and mended, the Spaniards now set impatient 
gaze upon the oak- and lir-clad mountain slopes which 
bounded the valley. Above llieiii loomed upward (he 
^reat Malinche, snow-capped ciueen of the Tlascalan 
mountain fastnesses; and still the friendly Tlascalaiis, 
stern foes but noble allies, loaded (luin with every favour 
and bid tliiMU tarry. When, however, they would slay 
no lont^c-r they raised a /^reat body of warriors to accom- 
pany them, warning C'orte/, a^^ainsl the; wiles of Monte- 
zuma. " Beware ol his presents and his proinisi-s ; he is 
false and sec:ks your destruction," they ur^ed, and their 
implacabli; hatred of the A/.lecs showed itself in then 
words and mien. 

Contrary to the advice of tlu-ir new allies, the Spaniards 
decided to journey on to Mexico through Cholula, the 
land of the ^reat pyramid. lOnibassies had arrived, bolli 
from Montezuma and from the Cholulans, the lallci 
inviting tfie Spaniards to go that way ; and llu; great Aztec 
monarch, swayed now by the shadow of oncoming 
destiny, olfei iiig the Spaniards a welcoim: to his ca[)i(al. 
"Trust not the Tlascalans, those barbarous foes," was 
the burden of his message, " but come Ihiongh fiieiidly 



74 MEXICO 

Cholula" — words which the Tlascalans heard with sneers 
and counter-advice. The purpose of the Tlascalans was 
not a disinterested one. An attack upon Montezuma 
was their desire, and preliminary to this they hoped to 
embroil the Spaniards with the perfidious Cholulans. 
Another embassy — and this was an important event — 
had waited upon Cortes. It was from the Ixtlilxochitl, 
one of the rival claimants for the throne of Texcoco, 
which, it will be remembered, was a powerful and 
advanced community in confederation with the Aztecs ; 
and Cortes was not slow to fan the flame of disaffection 
which this indicated, by an encouraging message to the 
young prince, 

A farewell was taken of the staunch Tlascalans, the 
invariable Mass was celebrated by Father Olmedo, and, 
accompanied by a large body of Tlascalan warriors, the 
Spaniards set out for Cholula. What befel in this 
beautiful and populous place — which, Bernal Diaz wrote, 
reminded him, from its numerous towers, of Valladolid — 
was of terrible and ruthless import. Cholula, with its 
great teocalliy was the Mecca of Anahuac, and was 
veritably a land flowing with milk and honey. Well- 
built houses, numerous teocallis, or pyramidal temples, 
well-dressed people with embroidered cloaks, and num- 
bers of censer-swinging priests formed the ensemble 
which greeted the Spaniards' eyes, whilst the intense 
cultivation of the ground and the fields of maguey, maiz, 
and other products, irrigated by canals from the mountain 
streams, formed the environment of this advanced com- 
munity. " Not a palm's-breadth of land that is not 
cultivated," wrote Cortes in his despatches to Castile, 
"and the city, as we approached, was more beautiful 
than the cities of Spain." Beautiful and gay doubtless 
Cholula was when the Spaniards entered ; drenched with 
the blood of its inhabitants and devastated by fire it lay 
before they left it ! There had been signs of treachery, 
even on the road thither, work of the Cholulans ; but, 
lodged in the city, the Spaniards discovered, through the 
agency of the intelligent Marina, a plot to annihilate 




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CORTES AND THE CONQUEST 75 

them later. Taking the Cholulans unawares as they 
crowded the streets with — at the moment — harmless 
curiosity, the Spaniards, with cannon, musket, and sabre, 
mowed down the unfortunate and unprotected natives in 
one bloody massacre, aided by the ferocious Tlascalans, 
who fell upon the Cholulans from the rear. The appall- 
ing and unnecessary slaughter at Cholula has called 
down upon the heads of Cortes and the Spaniards the 
execration of historians. Some have endeavoured to 
excuse or palliate it, but it remains as one of the indelible 
stains of the Spanish Conquistadores upon the history 
they were making. Having accomplished this " punitive " 
act, an image of the Virgin was set up on the summit of 
the great pyramidal temple, and some order restored. 
"They are now your Highness's faithful vassals," wrote 
Cortes to the king of Spain ! 

After this the way seemed clear. Far on the horizon 
loomed the white, snow-capped cones of Popocatepetl 
and Ixtaccihuatl, beautiful and pure above the deserts, 
the canyons, and the forests beneath them — the gateway 
to Mexico. From the foremost, above its snow-cap, 
there belched forth a great column of smoke, for at that 
period Popocatepetl was an active volcano. Onwards 
the Spaniards pressed with buoyant hearts and eager feet, 
and when they stood upon the summit of the range their 
eyes beheld the beautiful valley of Mexico, the haven 
for which they had long toiled and fought, stretched 
below. There, shimmering in distance, lay the strange, 
unknown city of the Aztecs, like a gem upon the borders 
of its lakes : its towers and buildings gleaming white 
in the brilliant sun of the tropic upland beneath the 
azure firmament and brought to deceptive nearness by 
the clear atmosphere of that high environment. There 
at last was their longed-for goal, the mysterious Tenoch- 
titlan. 



CHAPTER V 

THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 

.1 
The Valley of Mexico — The City and the Causeways — The Conquista- I 

dores enter Mexico City — Meeting of Cortes and Montezuma — > 

Greeting of the Aztec emperor to the Spaniards — Tradition of | 

Quetzacoatl — Splendid reception — The Teocalli — Spanish duplicity — | 

Capture of Montezuma — Spanish gambling — News from Vera Cruz — * 

Forced march to the coast — Cortes defeats Narvaez — Bad news from 
Mexico — Back to the capital — Alvarado's folly — Barbarous acts of the ' 

Spaniards — The fight on the pyramid — Destruction of Aztec idols — 
Death of Montezuma — Spaniards flee from the city — Frightful 
struggle on the Causeway — Alvarado's leap — The Noche Triste — 
Battle of Otumba — Marvellous victory — Spanish recuperation — 
Cuitlahuac and Guatemoc — Fresh operations against the capital — 
Building of the brigantines — Aztec tenacity — Expedition to Cuer- 
navaca — Xochimilco — Attack upon the city — Struggles and 
reverses — Sacrifice of Spaniards — Desertion of the Allies — Return 
of the Allies — Renewed attacks — Fortitude of the Aztecs — The 
famous catapult — Sufferings of the Aztecs — Final attack — Appalling 
slaughter — Ferocious Tlascalans — Fall of Mexico. 

The Valley of Mexico is a region of somewhat remarkable 
topographical character. It consists of a plain or inter- 
montane basin, enclosed on all sides by ranges of hills, 
forming a hydrographic entity whose waters have no 
natural outlet.^ A group of lakes occupy the central psrt 
of this valley, very much reduced, however, in size since 
the time of the Conquest. 

It was the 8th of November, 1519. Across the southern 
end of the great Lake Texcoco stretched a singular dyke 
or causeway, several miles in length and a few yards 
in width — a road or pathway built up of stone and mortar 

' See p. 17. 

76 




THE LAKES OF THE VALLEY OF MEXICO AT THE TIME OF THE COX- 
QUEST, SHOWING THE CAUSEWAYS TO THE AZTEC ISLAXD-CITY OF 
TEXOCHTITLAX. 



(From Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico.'') 



[To face p. 76. 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 77 

above the surrounding water, connecting the shores 
of that inland sea with an island and three other similar 
causeways. Upon this island arose a beautiful city with 
streets of strange buildings, above which rose great 
pyramids with sanctuaries upon their summits ; and upon 
the bosom of the lake numerous canoes were plying, laden 
with men and merchandise. So rose those towers, and 
lived and moved the dwellers of this lake city, unknowing 
and unknown of European man, living their life as if no 
other world than theirs held sway beneath the firmament 
of the "unknown God." But the spell is broken. A 
trumpet sound is ringing through the morning air. 
Across the causeway comes a troop of strange men- 
animals — fearful things which snort and tramp, making 
the causeway rumble, whilst the notes of that strange 
music echo away among the towers and pyramids of 
the city, and are borne far over the waters of the lake, to 
smite the ears of wondering Indians. 

Cortes and his Spaniards rode steadily along the 
causeway, their hearts beating — as well they might — 
with astonishment, admiration, apprehension, and all 
those emotions to which their unique and romantic 
position gave impulse. Guided by the messengers of 
Montezuma, the white men rode beneath a fortification 
in mid-causeway, where another similar structure joined 
it from another shore of the lake, passed the drawbridge 
and the city walls, and clattered up the stone-paved 
avenue of Tenochtitlan to where, in pomp and splendour, 
surrounded by his lords and vassals, the great Aztec chief 
awaited them, in a royal litter gleaming with polished 
gold. 

Cortes and his men dropped foot to earth, and Monte- 
zuma descended from his litter. The Spaniard Conquis- 
tador, after the custom of his race, advanced to embrace 
the chief, " but," wrote Cortes to Charles V., " the two 
lords in attendance prevented me with their hands that I 
might not touch him, and both Montezuma and they 
performed instead their ceremony of kissing the ground." 

The meeting of these two chiefs — one the autocrat of a 



78 MEXICO 

strange, unknown civilisation there in the heart of the 
mountains, the other the representative of an equally 
strange and unknown power from an outside world, 
both, to the other, undreamt of — is of dramatic memory. 
But the address of Montezuma was singularly dignified, 
prophetic, or philosophical. After the presents and greet- 
ings were exchanged, and the monarch and the invader 
sate at their ease, he spake in this wise : " You who 
have come from the direction of the sunrise, from a great 
lord of some far regions, shall not lack power here to 
command, for well we know as to our ancestry that we 
are not of the aborigines of this land where we now dwell, 
but of that of a great lord — which must be that you 
represent — who brought us here in ages past, departed, 
and promised to return. Rest here, therefore, and rejoice ; 
take what you will, my house is yours ; but believe not 
the slanders of my enemies through whose countries you 
have journeyed." 

So strong was the remarkable tradition of Quetzacoatl, 
that it had held this powerful chief and his warlike people 
in check before the invasion of a band of adventurers 
from abroad. A word of command from him, and the 
Spaniards, with all their advantages of firearms and 
horses, could never have passed the causeway or set 
foot within that impregnable city of Tenochtitlan — that 
fatal causeway, as indeed it afterwards became. 

Barbaric splendour, blended with the arts and industries 
of a civilised and practical people, formed the environ- 
ment of this long-striven-for goal, where the men of 
Spain now lay at ease. A great pile of low stone build- 
ings gave them commodious quarters. Rich gifts of gold 
and clothing, and ample food supplies, were given and 
provided for the white men ; and their hearts, whether of 
the high-mettled and scornful cavaliers, or of the rude 
boors who formed the common soldiery, were won by 
the gentle courtesy and the generosity of Montezuma and 
the respect of the Aztecs who obeyed him. Even the 
savage and hated Tlascalan allies were lodged and pro- 
vided for — their detested presence tolerated from con- 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 79 

sideration for the Spaniards. Here was an unhoped-for 
and magnificent reception. Here was a way and a time 
where the civilisation and reHgion of the Christian world 
might have been implanted — it would seem — by the 
philosophy of natural methods, by forbearance, example, 
and sagacity. So, at least, have thought some of the old 
chroniclers — so the student of to-day cannot but think. 

But it was not to be so. The heart of the thinker 
bleeds to-day for the things of history which might 
have been ; and the story of Montezuma is strong to 
give us philosophical regret. Some six days elapsed in 
this peaceful occupation of the city. Cortes and his 
Spaniards admired the huge market-place, where pro- 
ducts from all quarters of the country were brought 
together : food, clothing, weapons, manufactured articles 
of rich material and colour, objects of gold, and a wealth 
of flowers which the inhabitants loved, stone buildings 
which lined the streets, the canals and streets which gave 
access thereto, and, in brief, the whole detail and substance 
of that remarkable centre of a semi-civilisation which the 
Spaniards commonly pronounced the equal of anything 
in their own native land. In company with Montezuma 
Cortes ascended the great teocalli, or pyramidal temple, 
and he and his companion, from this high point, beheld 
with amazement the panorama of the city below — with 
the lakes, the causeways giving access to the mainland, 
the towns on the farther side, and the intense cultivation 
of the valley. " Only the murmur of the people below 
reached our ears, as we gazed upon this panorama," wrote 
Bernal Diaz, who was there. To the chiefs who had 
been ordered to carry Cortes up the fatiguing stairway- 
ascent of the pyramid, and to the polite inquiries of 
Montezuma, the Conquistador replied, " that a Spaniard 
was never weary ! " " But this abode of the devil," he 
said, with less politic words, which somewhat offended 
Montezuma — indicating the blood-stained sanctuary of 
the summit where they stood — " should rather be the 
home of the Cross " ; and, indeed, the abominable place 
might well arouse the indignation of a Christian man ! 



80 MEXICO 

even one of that race and religion which later, in the 
same place, burned its own brethren at the stake for the 
good of their souls ! 

A few days wrought a change. Montezuma became a 
prisoner in the Spanish camp ! In the heart of his own 
city, surrounded by his powerful chiefs and armies, the 
Aztec languished in vile, if seemingly voluntary, durance ; 
and, an instrument in the invaders' hands, he governed 
his realm from their quarters. How was this astonishing 
transformation brought about ? Cortes and his com- 
panions were in a singular position. Living in friendly 
harmony with their powerful host, shielded by his strange, 
superstitious reverence for a tradition, they yet could not 
but fear some change of circumstance which might, at 
any moment, plunge them into insecurity or threaten 
them with destruction. Moreover, Cortes knew not in 
what condition he stood with the dreaded powers of 
Castile. What favour or disfavour had he incurred in 
Spain for his irregular proceedings ? — adverse representa- 
tion of which, he well knew, would have been made by 
Velasquez and others, jealous of the conquest. Also — 
and this was a more poignant consideration than any 
other — Mexico was not conquered ; it was only dis- 
covered. Action was necessary — to go or stay. 
'' Listen," said Cortes to his captains, as they held 
solemn conclave. "This is my plan. We will seize 
and hold Montezuma. What say you ? " It was done. 
For a pretext for this unworthy act the murder of two 
Spaniards upon an expedition at Vera Cruz was assigned. 
Visiting Montezuma's residence under pretence of asking 
redress for this — which was fully granted by the Aztec 
king, with absolute proofs of his non-participation in 
the occurrence — the Spaniards demanded that he should 
accompany them to their camp and take up his residence 
there. 

This remarkable request was acceded to by the weak 
Montezuma — let us not say weak, but rather fatalist— and, 
accompanied by his weeping vassals, he allowed himself 
to be conducted to the stone fortress which had been 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 81 

assigned to the Spaniards as their habitation. The cir- 
cumstance is perhaps unique in history. 

And then the barbarous abuse of power, so strong a 
trait in the Spanish character, was exercised by Cortes 
and his captains. The chiefs who had been responsible 
for the kilhng of the two Spaniards arrived in the 
capital in accordance with Montezuma's summons. The 
Spaniards seized them, bound them to stakes in the 
courtyard, and burned them alive, an abominable act and 
stain upon their name, for which they paid dearly after- 
wards. Montezuma had been put in chains, the prisoners 
having confessed, although falsely, it is held, that they 
had acted in accordance with the Emperor's instructions. 
Afterwards Montezuma's shackles were taken off, but the 
indignity remained, although the Spaniards treated him 
well and endeavoured to render his captivity light, not so 
much out of regard for him, as that the safe keeping of 
his person was a valuable hostage for them. 

The days went on in the Spanish camp. There was 
gaming with the huge treasure which, after his captivity, 
Montezuma gave the Spaniards ; a treasure of which the 
gold, in three great heaps upon the floor of the habitation, 
was of value so prodigious as to dazzle even them, 
and of which a fifth was set apart for the Spanish 
king. Not content with these matters, or, rather, urged 
by their religious fervour, the Spaniards obtained per- 
mission to erect an altar and crucifix in one of the 
sanctuaries of the great teocalli. There Father Olmedo 
celebrated Mass, and the Te Deiim was chanted by the 
soldiers, side by side with the sacrificial stone ; the 
abominable war-god's image, and all the attendant 
machinery of its savage priestcraft. 

But a time of change looms up. Six months have 
elapsed since the Spaniards entered the city. The un- 
natural condition of these things bears its fruit. The 
Aztec king has sounded the knell of his own authority and 
prestige, and the Spaniards' religious work has incurred 
the hatred of the seething multitude, scarcely held in check 
by the commands of Montezuma. Cortes and most of 



82 MEXICO 

his captains at this critical time are called to Vera Cruz 
by Sandoval, the captain in charge ; and go they must, 
for life or death. For hostile ships, sent by the jealous 
Velasquez and commanded by one Narvaez, menace the 
base of operations on the coast. Leaving Alvarado in 
charge of Montezuma and Spanish prestige in Tenoch- 
titlan, Cortes by forced marches gained the coast, 
journeying with great speed, and under grave appre- 
hension. 

Fortune on this occasion favoured the Conquistador 
in a remarkable way. With only a third of his small 
force — 140 men had remained in the capital — Cortes, 
under cover of a fearful storm at night, attacked Narvaez 
and the Spaniards of his command, routing them and 
taking the leader prisoner. The defeated soldiers soon 
enrolled themselves under Cortes's successful banner, 
stimulated by tales of gold and glory in the interior. 
But whilst the Conquistadores were resting and congratu- 
lating themselves upon the addition of men, horses, and 
ammunition to their forces, grave tidings came from 
Mexico. The Indians of Tenochtitlan had arisen, 
assaulted the fortifications of the Spaniards on all sides, 
and unless Cortes desired to see all his work undone, 
his people massacred, and his hard-won prestige ruined, 
he must make his way as fast as God would let him again 
to the city on the lakes of Anahuac. 

Up, up they went once more. Up through the tropical 
forests and among the appalling escarpments of the 
Sierra. Again they descended the valley slopes, 
approached the lakes — round which an ominous aban- 
donment prevailed — and crossing the long causeway, 
entered the Spanish camp. The fault of the insurrec- 
tion, Cortes learned now, lay with the commander in 
charge — the foolish and cruel Alvarado, whose barbarous 
acts on other occasions had needlessly embroiled the 
Spaniards with the natives. A great celebration and 
religious festival was being held — Cortes learned — and 
whilst the Aztec nobles and people were occupied, unsus- 
pecting any hostile act of their guests, Alvarado and the 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 83 

Spaniards, armed to the teeth, had mingled with the 
crowd with their purpose all planned, fallen upon the 
unarmed worshippers, and perpetrated a frightful mas- 
sacre — "without pity or Christian mercy, so that the 
gutters ran with blood as in a rain-storm," say the 
chroniclers. 

The result of this barbarous act was a vengeance and 
punishment which cost the Conquistadores dear, and 
stripped them in a few days of all they had won. For 
the maddened people, roused by sorrow and hate, and 
urged on by the priests, assailed the Spanish dwelling 
with frenzied attack. A rain of darts and missiles de- 
scended day after day upon the quarters of the Christians, 
so numerous that they had to be gathered in heaps and 
burnt in the courtyard. The main point of attack by the 
Mexicans was the great teocallioi the war-god, which over- 
looked the Spaniards' quarters, and so fierce was the hail 
of arrows and stones from this that a sortie was made. 
Cortes, with Sandoval and Alvarado, and a number of the 
Spaniards, led a gallant attack on- the pyramid, fought 
their way up its precipitous steps and terraces, and after 
a frightful hand-to-hand struggle on its giddy summit, 
forced the Aztecs and their priests over the edge, and 
rolled the infernal idol of Huitzilopotchli, the war-god, 
down among the people in the streets below. 

Impressed as they were by the destruction of their 
temple and god — an event which was rapidly circulated 
about the country by hieroglyphical paintings — the Aztecs 
abated nothing of their attack and siege of the hated 
white men. All superstitious fear had gone, and the true 
character of these people the Spaniards had now to learn. 
Day after day the barbarians came on. Sortie after sortie, 
sometimes with success, sometimes with severe loss, was 
made by the Christians, Cortes more than once barely 
escaping with his life, while numerous Spaniards and 
horses fell. The labyrinth of streets and cross-canals and 
bridges much hampered the Spaniards' movements, and 
houses and walls were torn down to fill these fatal ditches. 
Distress and famine fell upon the garrison, mutiny arose, 



84 MEXICO 

and some of the Spaniards cursed themselves and their 
leader as fools for having left their comfortable homes in 
Cuba to embark on this mad enterprise, whose termina- 
tion seemed as if it might be — as indeed it was for many 
of them — the sacrificial stone of the heathen god. 

But Cortes, intrepid and serene in the face of disaster, 
called them to order. The unfortunate Montezum.a, who, 
buried in a profound melancholy, took no part in the 
struggle, was urged to address his frenzied people from 
the tower of the fortification. He consented, and the 
Aztec warriors without the walls gazed with astonishment 
on their captured chief, and heard with still greater amaze- 
ment his commands that strife against the white man 
should cease. But the power of his name and presence 
was gone ; howls and execration arose from the mob ; 
a stone from a sling struck Montezuma upon the fore- 
head, and he sank back into the arms of the Spaniards 
and was borne to his quarters. For a space, the mob, 
horror-struck at its sacrilegious act, fled from the place, 
and not a man was seen within the square that day. 
Montezuma, sorely stricken, declined rapidly, and refusing 
the attentions of Father Olmedo, who knelt at his bedside 
with uplifted crucifix, sank to his end. " Half an hour of 
life alone remains me ; at least I will die in the faith of 
my forefathers," he said, adding in expiring tones to 
Cortes, his last words : " To your care and your 
Emperor's I commend my daughters, my precious 
jewels. You, for whose sake I have been brought to 
indignity and death, will not refuse me this last re- 
quest." So perished the noble Montezuma.^ 

The bridges broken, the savages screaming outside the 
walls, hope of victory gone, there was now no counsel of 
war for the Spaniards save that of escape. But how ? 
At night and along the great causeway was the only plan. 
A weird scene it was on the beginning of that Noche Triste 

' It is stated by some historians that the death of Montezuma was really 
brought about by Cortes and the Spaniards, who, considering the unfortu- 
nate monarch an incumbrance, killed him in captivity ; and there are 
grounds for suspecting that this is true. 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 85 

—the sorrowful night — which stands forth so unforget- 
ably in the history of the Conquest. Disorder everywhere ; 
piles of gold and valuables upon the floor, each Spaniard, 
whether cavalier or boor, loading himself with what he 
thought he could carry. " Pocket what you can," Cortes 
said, "but recollect that gold is heavy and we have to 
travel swiftly " — grave advice, the neglect of which cost 
some their lives upon that awful night. 

And then began the retreat along the fatal causeway. 
It was known that there were three openings in this, and 
a portable bridge had been made and was borne along 
to enable passage to be effected. Hurrying on in the 
hope of passing the breaches before alarm might be given, 
the Spaniards entered upon the causeway and placed 
their portable bridge upon the first breach. Was safety 
to be theirs ? No i What was that appalling sound, 
sonorous and melancholy, which rang over the city and 
the waters amid the darkness ? It was the great drum 
on the teocalli; the tarnhor oi the war-god, sounded by 
vigilant priests, calling the people to vengeance and 
battle. And in their myriads the Aztecs poured forth 
and fell upon the Christians, raining darts and stones 
upon them, and making the night hideous with their 
war-cries. Meanwhile Cortes and the advance guard had 
passed over, and reached the second breach. " Bring 
up the bridge ! " was the repeated order, as those behind 
crowded on. Useless ; the bridge was stuck fast in the 
first breach, wedged down by the weight of guns and 
horses which had passed over it, and as these dread 
tidings were heard the mass of men upon the narrow 
causeway lost their presence of mind. Those behind 
crowded on those in front ; men and horses rolled into 
the lake ; Spaniards and Tlascalans fell victims to the 
Aztecs, who crowded the water in their canoes and 
leapt upon the causeway ; the shouts of vengeance and 
triumph of the savages resounded all along the dyke, 
silencing the muttered oath or prayer of the Christians 
huddled at the breach. Down went horse and man, 
artillery and treasure, until with the bodies of Christians 



86 MEXICO 

and Indians and horses, and bales of merchandise and 
chests of ammunition the breach was almost filled, and 
a portion of the fugitives passed over. And now the 
third breach yawns before them — deep and wide. The 
morning is dawning upon the fatal scene ; the salt waters 
of the lake have closed over many a gallant Christian 
head ; the frightful causeway is strewn with wreck of 
man and merchandise. " The rear guard perishes !" and 
" back and save them ! " were the words which rang out 
then ; and Cortes and his remaining cavaliers, who were 
in the lead, rode back, even in that frightful hour — be 
it recorded to their honour — and, swimming the breach 
once more, strove to support their comrades. There 
stood Alvarado unhorsed and battling, with the savages 
pressing upon his rear. Escape there seemed none. 
Canoes and spears teemed on every side, and Cortes 
and his companions were forced onward. The heroic 
figure of Alvarado stood up against the grey sky alone — 
a moment — and then he measured the breach with his 
eye, whilst — 

"Friends and foes in dumb surprise 
With parted lips and straining eyes 
Stood gazing," — 

but not " where he sank," for sink he did not.^ Planting 
his lance on the wreckage in the waters of the breach, 
after the manner of a leaping-pole, the heroic Spaniard 
collected his energies, leapt forward, and passed the 
chasm at a bound. To this day, in the City of Mexico, 
the spot exists, and is known as the puente de Alvarado. 
Away off the causeway into the grey dawn of morning 
passed the remnant of the routed army, wounded, 
bleeding, starving, their comrades gone, some to death, 
some to the sacrifice, and annihilation threatening all. 
Baggage and artillery were gone, not a carbine was left, 
and Cortes, seating himself upon the steps of a ruined 

* It is stated that the Aztecs paused in admiration of this feat, whilst " the 
Son of the Sun," as they termed Alvarado, from his fair hair and rubicund 
visage, performed this extraordinary leap ; considering it miraculous. 




im , :-> 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 87 

temple on the shore, wept bitter tears of sorrow and 
vanished fortune. So passed the Noche Triste. 

The next great event of this remarkable campaign was 
the battle of Otumba. The wretched soldiers, having 
obtained what rest and nourishment were possible, con- 
tinued their retreat around the northern part of the lake 
valley ; passed beneath the shadow of the pyramids of 
Teotihuacan — standing ever there ruined and wrapped 
in the mystery of their prehistoric builders — and seven 
days after the events of that awful night crossed the 
summit of the range which bounds the plain of 
Anahuac. Thence they set their gaze eastwards to- 
wards the coast. What was it that greeted their eyes 
on the plain below ? A mighty army of warriors whose 
hosts absolutely covered the plain with glowing lance 
and waving plumes — the forces of the warlike Otomies. 
So numerous were they that, dressed in their armour 
of white quilted cotton, it "looked as if the land was 
covered with snow," as the historians put it. There 
was nothing for it but to face these fearful odds, and, 
weakened as they were, the remnant of the Spanish 
force, encouraged by their leader and exhorted by their 
priest, fell valiantly on. They were soon wrapped in 
the enfolding masses of the savages, who attacked them 
with the utmost ferocity. The cavalry fell back ; the 
Spaniards were stricken on every side, and absolute 
disaster hung over them. "We believed it to be our 
last day," Cortes wrote to Spain afterwards. But the 
tide of battle changed miraculously. In a last furious 
charge Cortes, followed by the few officers who re- 
mained, leaped upon the foe, reached the litter of their 
chief, and, running him through the body with a 
lance, tore down the standard. This act saved the day. 
Stricken with panic at the loss of their leader, the 
Indians fell into disorder, threw down their arms, and 
turned and fled. Hot upon them, and thirsting for 
revenge, poured the Spaniards and Tlascalans — it is to 
be recollected that the Christians had no firearms nor 
artillery — and utterly routed them. The victory of 



88 MEXICO 

Otumba is considered one of the most remarkable in 
the history of the New World. 

Their fortunes thus somewhat ameliorated, the 
Spaniards continued onward to Tiascala, where they 
were received with the utmost hospitality, and there 
they recuperated their shattered energies. Further 
alliance was entered into with these people, despite 
embassies from the Aztecs. Further operations were 
successfully conducted against the powerful Tepeacans — 
allies of the Aztecs — who were beaten, and transferred 
their allegiance to the men of Castile. These successes 
were followed by others; the Tlascalans in a severe 
battle defeated a large force of the Aztecs ; numerous 
other tribes, influenced by these matters, sent to offer 
their allegiance, and a vast part of the country was 
soon under the authority of the Spaniards. The in- 
trepid and persistent spirit of Cortes, undismayed by 
the reverses which the attempted conquest of Mexico 
had cost him and his followers, now laid his plans for 
a further campaign against the lake-city of Anahuac. 
Over Tenochtitlan there had reigned a master-enemy, 
to whose work had been due the frightful reverses of 
the " sorrowful night " and the battle of Otumba. This 
was Cuitlahuac, brother of Montezuma. But having 
saved his capital from falling before the detested 
white men, this capable prince expired from smallpox 
— a disease introduced into the country by the invaders 
— after a few months' reign. In his stead now arose 
the famous Guatemoc, Montezuma's nephew, and he 
also had sworn a deep hatred against the ravishers of 
his country. 

Up, up once more, away over the rocky fastnesses 
of the sierra, followed by his allies, the flower of the 
armies of Tiascala, Tepeaca, and Cholula, Cortes and 
his Spaniards pressed. But his measures this time had 
been taken with care and forethought. The resources 
of the country furnished sinews of war. Twelve brigan- 
tines were put under construction by the Spanish ship- 
builder who was among the forces, timber and pitch 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 89 

being obtained from the mountains near at hand, and 
the ironwork and rigging of the destroyed navy of Vera 
Cruz used for their outfitting. This astonishing piece 
of work was performed by the Tlascalans, and the ships, 
carried from Tlascala to the shore of Texcoco, were 
floated thereon by means of a canal dug by these mag- 
nificent aUies of the Spanish Crown. The building of 
ships in a forest and carrying them in pieces for sixty 
miles over mountains and plains to the water, is a feat 
which may well command our admiration even to-day ! 

The subjugation of the Aztec city proved to be a pro- 
tracted and bloody task. The only method by which 
it could be compassed was that of laying waste the 
surrounding places on the lake and the holding of the 
environs of the city in a state of siege. Cortes estab- 
lished his centre of operations in the city of Texcoco, 
capital of the nation of the same name, on the eastern 
extremity of the lake, and the young Prince Ixtlilxochitl, 
whom he installed upon the throne of that kingdom, was 
his powerful ally. Indeed, it was only the disaffections 
of the outlying peoples, who generally abhorred the 
Aztec hegemony, that enabled the Spaniards to carry 
on their operations, or, indeed, to set foot in the 
country at all. 

A series of severe struggles began then, both by land 
and water — burning, slaughter, and the destruction of 
the lake towns. The Aztecs, with their great number, 
raining darts and stones upon the invaders at every 
engagement, attacked them with unparalleled ferocity 
both by forces on shore and their canoes on the lake. 
The Spaniards took heavy toll of the enemy at every 
turn, assisted by their allies the Tlascalans, as savage 
and implacable as the Aztecs, whom they attacked with 
a singular and persistent spirit of hatred, the result of 
long years of oppression by the dominant power of 
Anahuac. Cortes, on every occasion when it seemed 
that the last chance of success might attend it, offered 
terms to the Aztec capital, by no means dishonourable, 
assuring them their liberty and self-government in return 



90 MEXICO 

for allegiance to the Crown of Spain and the renouncing 
of their abominable system of sacrificial religion. These 
advances were invariably met by the most implacable 
negatives. The Aztecs, far from offering to yield, swore 
they would sacrifice, when the day was theirs, every 
Spaniard and Tlascalan on the bloody altars of their 
gods ; and as for entering into any treaty, the last man, 
woman, and child would resist the hated invaders until 
the last drop of blood was shed and the last stone of 
their city thrown down. This vaunt, as regards the 
latter part, was almost literally carried out, and to some 
extent as regards the former. 

During the earlier part of the siege a welcome addition 
was made to the Spanish forces. Three vessels from 
Hispaniola arrived at Vera Cruz, and the two hundred men, 
artillery, gunpowder, and quantity of horses they brought 
placed the Spaniards again in possession of superior 
arms. Previous to this the brigantines had arrived, 
transported by the Tlascalans, eight thousand bearers 
loaded with timbers and appliances, " a marvellous sight 
to see," wrote Cortes to the king. " I assure your Majesty 
that the train of bearers was six miles long." It is related 
by a subsequent historian, in 1626, that tallow being 
scarce for the shipwrights' purposes, it was obtained from 
the dead bodies of Indians who had fallen in the fights ; 
presumably by boiling them down.^ 

Plans were then laid for an attack upon the island- 
city. But before this it was necessary to subjugate some 
troublesome Indians to the west, and the expedition to 
Cuernavaca was successfully carried out. A remarkable 
incident of this was the surprise attack upon the enemy 
in an impregnable position, by the crossing of a 
profound chasm by means of two overhanging trees, 
which were utilised as a natural bridge by some Tlascalans 
and the Spaniards, who passed the dangerous spot by 

' This obtaining of sebo humano, or " human tallow," by the Spaniards 
seems to have been practised in Peru also, according to stories told me 
by the natives of the Andes, and recorded in my book, " The Andes and the 
Amazon. 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 91 

this method. Return was then made to Xochimilco on 
the fresh-water lake of that name, adjoining at that time 
that of Texcoco on the south. The name of this place 
in the Aztec tongue signifies " The Field of Flowers," for 
there were numbers of the singular chinampas, or 
floating-gardens, which were a feature of the aquatic 
life of the Mexicans, existing upon this lake. 

The siege operations were conducted vigorously both 
by land and water. Again before the eyes of the Spaniards 
stretched that fatal causeway — path of death amid the 
salt waters of Texcoco for so many of their brave 
comrades upon the Noche Triste of their terrible flight from 
Tenochtitlan. And there loomed once more that dreaded 
teocalli,v:hence the war-drum's mournful notes were heard. 
Guarded now by the capable and persistent Guatemoc, 
the city refused an offer of treaty, and invited the destruc- 
tion which was to fall upon it. From the azoteas, or 
roofs of their buildings and temples, the undaunted 
Mexicans beheld the white-winged brigantines, armed 
with those belching engines of thunder and death whose 
sting they well knew : and saw the ruthless hand of 
devastation laying waste their fair town of the lake shore, 
and cutting off their means of life. 

But the Spaniards had yet to learn to their cost the 
lengths of Aztec tenacity and ferocity. It will be recol- 
lected that the city was connected to the lake shores by 
means of four causeways, built above the surface of the 
water ; engineering structures of stone and mortar and 
earth, which had from the first aroused the admiration 
of the Spaniards. These causeways, whilst they rendered 
the city almost impregnable from attack, were a source 
of weakness in the easy cutting-off of food supplies, 
which they afforded to the enemy. A simultaneous 
assault on all these approaches was organised by 
the Spaniards, under Sandoval, Alvarado, and Cortes 
himself, respectively, whilst the brigantines, with their 
raking artillery, were to support the attack by water, 
aided by the canoes of the Tlascalan and Texcocan 
allies. A series of attacks was made by this method, 



92 MEXICO 

and at last the various bodies of Spaniards advanced 
along the causeways and gained the city walls. But 
frightful disaster befel them. The comparative ease with 
which they entered the city aroused Cortes's suspicions ; 
and at that moment, from the summit of the great teocalli, 
rang out a fearful note — the horn of Guatemoc, calling 
for vengeance and a concerted attack. The notes of 
the horn struck some ominous sense of chill in the 
Spaniards' breasts, and the soldier-penman, Bernal Diaz, 
who was fighting valiantly there, says that the noise 
echoed and re-echoed, and rang in his ears for days 
afterwards. The Spaniards on this, as on other occasions, 
had foolishly neglected to secure the breaches in the 
causeways as they passed, or at least the rash Alvarado 
had not done so with his command, his earlier lesson 
unheeded ; and when the Christians were hurled back- 
wards — for their easy entrance into the great square of 
the city had been in the nature of a decoy — disaster 
befel them, which at one moment seemed as if it would 
be a repetition of that of the Noche Triste. " The moment 
I reached that fearful bridge," Cortes wrote in his 
despatches, " I saw the Spaniards returning in full flight." 
Remaining to hold the breach, if possible, and cover the 
retreat, the chivalrous Cortes, almost lost his life from a 
furious attack by the barbarians in their canoes, and was 
only saved by the devotion of his own men and Indian 
allies, who gave their lives in his rescue. Word, never- 
theless, had gone forth among the men that Cortes had 
fallen ; and the savages, throwing before the faces of 
Alvarado and Sandoval the bloody heads of decapitated 
Spaniards, cried tauntingly the name " Malintzin," which 
was that by which Cortes was known among the Mexicans. 
Men and horses rolled into the lake ; dead bodies filled 
the breaches ; the Christians and their allies were beaten 
back, and "as we were all wounded it was only the help 
of God which saved us from destruction," wrote Bernal 
Diaz. Indeed, both Cortes and the Spaniards only 
escaped, on these and other occasions, from the Aztecs' 
desire to take them alive for sacrifice. 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 93 

Once more, after disastrous retreats and heavy loss, the 
bleeding and discouraged Spaniards lay in their camp, 
as evening fell. Of dead, wounded, and captured the 
Spaniards missed more than a hundred and twenty of 
their comrades, and the Tlascalans a thousand, whilst 
valuable artillery, guns, and horses were lost. But listen ! 
what is that mournful, penetrating sound which smites 
the Christians' ears ? It is the war-god's drum, and 
even from where the Spaniards stand there is visible 
a procession ascending the steps of the teocalli, and, to 
their horror, the forms of their lost comrades are seen 
within it : whose hearts are doomed to be torn out living 
from their breasts to smoke before the shrine of Huit- 
zilopochtli, the war-devil of their enemies. From that 
high and fearful place their comrades' eyes must be gazing 
with despairing look towards the impotent Spanish camp, 
glazing soon in death as the obsidian knives of the 
priests performed their fiendish work. The disastrous 
situation of the Spaniards was made worse by the 
desertion, at this juncture, of the Tlascalan and other 
allies. Awed by a prophecy sent out confidently by the 
Aztec priests, that both Christians and allies should be 
delivered into their hands before eight days had passed 
(prophecy or doom, which the priests said, was from the 
mouth of the war-god, appeased by the late victory), the 
superstitious Indians of Cortes's forces sneaked off in 
the night. 

Continued reverses, in the face of long-continued 
action and desire for the attaining a given end, forges 
in the finer calibre of mind a spirit of unremitting 
purpose. Blow after blow, which would turn away the 
ordinary individual from his endeavour, serves to steel 
the real hero to a dispassionate and persistent patience^ 
and the purpose from its very intensity becomes almost 
a sacred cause, and seems to obtain from the unseen 
powers of circumstance success at last. So with Cortes 
and others of the Spaniards. The period prescribed by 
the somewhat rash prophecy of the Aztec priests and their 
infernal oracle having passed without anything remark- 



94 MEXICO 

able having taken place, the Tlascalan and Texcocan 
allies, upbraided and warned by the Spaniards' messengers, 
now sneaked back to resume the attack against the city. 
The Aztecs had sought to cause disaffection in outlying 
places by sending round the bloody heads of decapitated 
Spaniards and horses, but with little effect. Cortes then 
prepared for a final effort. The plan adopted was to 
be slower but surer than the former one of simple 
slaughter. It was determined to raze the city to the 
ground ; to destroy the buildings step by step, fill up the 
canals, and so lay waste the whole area from the outside, 
so that unobstructed advance might be maintained. 

The execution of this plan was begun. The city ends 
of the causeways were captured and held ; street after 
street was demolished, and canal after canal filled up 
amid scenes of incessant fighting and slaughter. Day 
after day the Spaniards returned to their work ; day after 
day with admirable tenacity the inhabitants of Tenoch- 
titlan disputed the ground inch by inch, watered with 
the blood of themselves, their women and their children. 
Their supplies cut off, famine and pestilence wrought 
more terrible havoc among them — crowded as they 
gradually became into one quarter of the city — than the 
arms of the Spaniards and the Tlascalans. At the 
termination of each day's work the Spanish prepared an 
ambuscade for the enemy, drawing them on by seeming 
to retire, and massacring them with the artillery and 
gun-fire and lances, to say nothing of the weapons of 
their savage allies. On one of these occasions " the enemy 
rushed out yelling as if they had gained the greatest 
victory in the world," Cortes wrote in his despatches, and 
" more than five hundred, all of the bravest and principal 
men, were killed in this ambush." He added, and it was a 
common occurrence, "our allies " — the Indians — " supped 
well that night, cutting up and eating their captives ! " 
During the days of this terrible siege the famous catapult 
was made, an extraordinary engine to discharge great 
stones upon the enemy. This was to enable the 
Spaniards to husband their powder, which was getting low, 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 95 

and the Aztecs watched the construction of this machine 
with certain fear. It was completed and set to work, but 
the builder, a Spanish soldier of inventive faculty, nearly 
played the part of the engineer hoist with his own petard, 
for the great stone fired rose, it is true, but went straight 
up and descended again upon the machine, which was 
ever afterwards the laughing-stock of the army. 

Further severe losses were now inflicted upon the 
beleaguered inhabitants, as more ammunition had been 
obtained. Peace had again been offered by the Spaniards, 
and again refused by the Aztecs. An Aztec chief of high 
rank had been captured, and then returned to Guatemoc 
as a peace envoy. The Mexicans' reply was to execute 
and sacrifice the unfortunate emissary, and then collect- 
ing their forces they poured out upon the causeways like 
a furious tide, which seemed as if it would sweep all 
before it. But the Spaniards were prepared. The narrow 
causeways were commanded by the artillery, which 
poured such a deadly hail upon the enemy's numbers 
that they returned fleeing to the city. 

And soon the end approaches. The division led by 
Cortes made a fierce assault ; and whilst the battle raged 
the; Spaniards observed that the summit of one of the teo- 
callis was in flames. It was the work of Alvarado's men, 
who had penetrated already to the plaza. Forces were 
joined, and the inhabitants of the city, driven into one 
quarter thereof, still made their stubborn and — now — 
suicidal stand. For the streets were piled up with corpses, 
the Aztecs refraining from throwing the bodies of their slain 
into the lake, or outside the city, in order not to show 
their weakness. Pestilence and famine had made terrible 
inroads upon the population. Miserable wretches, men, 
women, and children, were encountered wandering about 
careless of the enemy, only bent upon finding some roots, 
bark, or offal which might appease the hunger at their 
vitals. The salt waters of the lake, which they had been 
obliged to drink, for the Spaniards had cut the aqueduct 
which brought the fresh water from Chapultepec, had 
caused many to sicken and die. Mothers had devoured 



96 MEXICO 

their dead children ; the bodies of the slain had been 
eaten, and the bark gnawed from the trunks of trees. In 
their dire extremity some of the chiefs of the beleaguered 
city called Cortes to the barricade. He went, trusting 
that capitulation was at hand, for, as both he and his 
historians record, the slaughter was far from their choosing. 
" Do but finish your work quickly," was the burden of 
their parley. " Let us go and rest in the heaven of our 
war-god ; we are weary of life and suffering. How is it 
that you, a son of the Sun, tarry so long in finishing, 
when the Sun himself makes circuit of the earth in a day, 
and so accomplishes his work speedily ? " 

This remarkable appeal struck renewed pity to the 
heart of Cortes, and once more he begged them to 
surrender and avoid further suffering, and the Spaniards 
drew off their forces for a space. But the inexorable 
Guatemoc, although he sent an embassy to say he would 
hold parley, and the Spaniards waited for him, did not 
fulfil the promise at the last momeiit. Incensed at this 
behaviour, the Spaniards and the Tlascalans renewed the 
attack with overpowering energy on the one part and 
barbaric savagery on the other. Contrary to the orders 
of the Spaniards, their savage allies gave no quarter, but 
murdered men, women, and children in fiendish exul- 
tation. The stench of the dead in the beleaguered city 
was overpowering ; the soil was soaked with blood ; the 
gutters ran as in a rain-storm, say the chroniclers, and, 
wrote Cortes to the King of Spain : " Such slaughter was 
done that day on land and water that killed and prisoners 
numbered forty thousand ; and such were the shrieks and 
weeping of women and children that there were none of 
us whose hearts did not break." He adds that it was im- 
possible to contain the savage killing and torturing by 
their allies the Tlascalans, who practised such cruelty as 
had never been seen, and " out of all order of nature." 

At nightfall the attacking forces drew off, leaving the 
remainder of the inhabitants of the stricken city to 
consider their position. It is stated that the Tlascalans 
made a great banquet of the flesh of the fallen Aztecs, 



THE FALL OF THE LAKE CITY 97 

and that on this and other occasions they fished up the 
bloated bodies of their enemies from the lake and 
devoured them I At sunrise on the following day Cortes 
and a few followers entered the city, hoping to have a 
supplication for terms from Guatemoc. The army was 
stationed outside the walls, ready, in the event of a refusal 
— the signal of which should be a musket-shot — to pour 
in and strike the final blow. A parley was entered into as 
before, which lasted several hours. " Do you surrender ?" 
Cortes demanded. The final reply of Guatemoc was, 
" I will not come : I prefer to die where I am : do your 
worst," 

A musket-shot rang out upon the air ; the Spaniards and 
their allies fell on to merciless slaughter : cannons, muskets, 
arrows, slings, lances — all told their tale upon the huddled 
mass of panic-stricken people, who, after presenting a 
feeble and momentary front, poured forth upon the fatal 
causeways to escape. Drowned and suffocated in the 
waters of the lake, mowed down by the fire from the 
brigantines, and butchered by the brutal Tlascalans, 
women, children, and men struggled and shrieked among 
that frightful carnage ; upon which it were almost im- 
pious to dwell further. Guatemoc, with his wife and 
children, strove to escape, and the canoe containing them 
was already out upon the lake, when a brigantine ran it 
down and captured him. All resistance was at an end. 
No sign of life or authority remained among the ruined 
walls ; the fair city by the lake was broken and tenantless, 
its idols fallen, and its people fled. The Homeric struggle 
was over ; the conquest of Mexico was accomplished. 



CHAPTER VI 

MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 

General considerations — Character of Viceroy rule — Spanish civilisation — 
Administration of Cortes — Torture of Guatemoc — Conquests of 
Guatemala and Honduras — Murder of Guatemoc — Fall of Cortes — 
First viceroy Mendoza — His good administration — Misrule of the 
Aii-diencias — Slavery and abuse of the Indians — The Philippine 
islands — Progress under the Viceroys — Plans for draining the 
Valley of Mexico — British buccaneers — Priestly excesses — Raid of 
Agramonte — Exploration of California — Spain and England at 
war — Improvements and progress in the eighteenth century — 
Waning of Spanish power — Decrepitude of Spain — Summary of 
Spanish rule — Spanish gifts to Mexico — The rising of Hidalgo — 
Spanish oppression of the colonists — Oppression by the colonists of 
the Indians — Republicanism and liberty — Operations and death of 
Hidalgo — The revolution of Morelos — Mier — The dawn of Inde- 
pendence — The birth of Spanish-American nations. 

The history of Mexico, like its topography, shows a series 
of intense and varied pictures. Indeed, it ever occurs to 
the student of the Spanish-American past, and observer 
of Spanish-American hills and valleys, that the diverse 
physical changes seem to have had some analogy with 
or to have exercised some influence upon the acts of 
mankind there. Whether in Mexico, Peru, or other 
parts of North, Central, and South America, formed by 
the rugged ranges of the Andes, the accompanimxents of 
prehistoric civilisation, daring conquest, bloody and 
picturesque revolution, and social turmoil are found. 
Amid these great mountain peaks and profound valleys 
strange semi-civilised barbarians raised their temples, 
and European men, arriving thither in armed bands, have 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 99 

torn both themselves and their predecessors to pieces, as 
if some dictate of Nature had said, " Fight ; for here is no 
peace. " 

Yet what was really destined to take place in Mexico 
was the evolution of a distinct civilisation. Three 
hundred years of the implanting of the seed of Spanish 
culture and ideals, and fifty years of drastic revolutionary 
tilling of the social soil, wrought a nation at length. 

Transplanted from the Old World, the methods and 
character of Spanish life, with all its virtues and defects, 
rapidly took root in Mexico. The long rule of the 
Viceroys is steeped in an atmosphere often brilliant and 
attractive, often dark and sinister, always romantic and 
impressive. The grandees of Spain came out to rule this 
new country, and gave it of their best, nor disdained to 
spend their years therein, and a stream of capable legis- 
lators and erudite professors and devout ecclesiastics 
hurried to the new field which lay open to their services 
and powers. The patriotism and fervency of their work, 
whatever defects they showed from time to time, cannot 
fail to arouse the applause of the student of those times. 
The colonial rcf^ime gave solid and enduring character 
to the Mexican people. It gave them traditions, history, 
refinement, which are a priceless heritage for them, and 
it builded beautiful cities and raised up valuable insti- 
tutions which are the substratum of their civilisation. 
The wonderful vitality and extent of Spanish influence 
and character which flowed from these centres — Mexico, 
Peru, and others — over thousands of miles of rui><ied 
Cordillera and through impassable forests, was, in some 
respects, the most notable condition within the shores of 
all the New World. The stamp of the great civilisation 
which Spain, herself the result of a human blend of 
undying character, implanted within these continents 
is great and imperishable, and holds something for the 
world at large which is, as yet, scarcely suspected. 

But, to return to history. In 1522 Cortes was 
appointed Governor and Captain-General of the great 
territory which Spain acquired as a result of the Conquest, 



100 MEXICO 

and to which the name of " New Spain " was given — a 
designation, however, which was never able to usurp its 
ancient and natural one of " Mexico." The charges 
which had been brought against Cortes by his jealous 
enemies had been inquired into by an impartial group 
of statesmen appointed by the young King of Spain, 
Charles V., and set aside ; and thus began the rule of 
Spain in Mexico. The Conquistador thus reached the 
summit of fame and power — the reward of his indomit- 
able spirit of persistence in the path and project which 
his imagination had fired. 

The regime of Cortes was not without benefit to the 
colony. A fine city arose upon the ruins of Tenochtitlan. 
Settlement of the country was carried on ; valuable pro- 
ducts of the Old World — among them the sugar-cane and 
orange and grape-vines — were introduced and cultivated; 
exploration of the country was pushed on a consider- 
able scale, resulting in the discovery of the Pacific coast 
of Mexico. The conquest of Guatemala was carried out 
by Pedro de Alvarado, sent thither by Cortes, and that of 
Honduras by Olid. Cortes personally carried an expedi- 
tion to Honduras, but disturbances in Mexico obliged 
him to return. 

Guatemoc, the brave young Aztec defender of Tenoch- 
titlan, fared ill at the hands of the Spaniards. To their 
shame it is that, after the fall of the city, they tortured 
him — by permission of Cortes — in order to extract infor- 
mation as to the whereabouts of the Aztec treasure ; for 
the invaders had obtained disappointingly little gold. In 
company with one of his chiefs the Spaniards roasted the 
feet of Guatemoc before a fire : " Think you that I am 
upon some bed of delight ? " was the reply of the stoic 
Aztec to his groaning companion in torture, who asked 
if he did not suffer. Guatemoc remained crippled for 
life by this barbarous act, but he accompanied Cortes io 
Honduras, and upon this expedition it was that the 
Spaniards executed — or murdered — him. He was 
accused of treachery in having endeavoured to incite a 
rebellion against the Spaniards, and they hanged him 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 101 

head downwards from a tree. " Ah ! Mahntzin," ^ the 
unfortunate Aztec said to Cortes after his mock trial, 
" vain I ever knew it to trust in your promises ! " 

And now the time arrives when the star of the Con- 
quistador is to wane and set. The execution of 
Guatemoc had brought about a reprimand from Spain ; 
for it is to be recollected that the Spanish sovereigns 
never sought the actual destruction of the American 
princes, and Pizarro, also, was reprimanded after his 
murder of Atahualpa, in Peru. Cortes, upon his return 
to Mexico from the Honduras expedition, found that 
Spain was not pleased with his administration. Enemies 
had been at work, and gratitude for his great services 
was easily set aside in the fickle favour of the monarch. 
A special commissioner, in the person of the licentiate 
Ponce de Leon, was awaiting him, appointed by 
Carlos V. to impeach him, as a result of grave charges 
of maladministration — true or untrue — which had been 
brought against him in Spain. In this connection it is 
to be recollected that Cortes, faithful to his country, had 
twice refused to be made King of Mexico by his own 
followers. Cortes, finding his enemies too strong, went 
to Spain to lay his case before the Emperor personally, 
but was denied the civil governorship of Mexico, 
although military control was given him, and the title 
of Marques del Valle. But although he returned to 
Mexico, he was no longer in the dominant position of 
former years. Cortes returned to Spain in 1540 from 
Mexico, once more to lay the plaint of his unjust treat- 
ment before Carlos V., a result of his disputes with the 
first viceroy, Mendoza. He was treated with indifference 
and coldness ; his life terminated in disappointment and 
regrets, and he died in Spain in December, 1547. So pass 
the actors in the drama of the Conquest As to Guatemoc, 
his memory is perpetuated in the handsome statue in the 
paseo de Colon of modern Mexico, whilst — strange senti- 
ment of the race which Cortes founded — no monument 
to the bold Conquistador exists throughout the land. 

' The Aztec name for Cortes. 



102 MEXICO 

From the time of the fall of the fortunes of Cortes in 
1535 to the first cry for independence by Hidalgo in 
1810, New Spain was administered by viceroys and 
Audiencias — the latter being a species of administrative 
councils consisting of a president and four members, 
nominated by royal decree. The first viceroy, Mendoza, 
and many of the subsequent officials of this rank 
governed Mexico for a period, and were transferred 
thence to the viceregency of Peru, which latter country 
had been brought into Spain's colonial possessions by the 
conquest under Pizarro, in 1532. Indeed, Pizarro a short 
time after that date had made his second entry into Cuzco, 
the Inca capital of Peru, wearing an ermine robe which 
Cortes had sent him. During Mendoza's period, print- 
ing was first introduced into Mexico — or, indeed, into the 
New World — the Mint and the University were founded, 
and exploration of the northern part of the country was 
undertaken. The rule of the first viceroy, Mendoza, was 
good ; he was upright and capable, and his methods 
were in marked contrast to the excesses and cruelties 
practised by the first Aiidiencia, which had preceded his 
and the second Audiencia's regime. Bishops and 
priests took active part in the affairs of Mexico from the 
beginning, and the first Audiencia had been involved in 
grave conflict with the clergy. One of the main features 
of the period was the system of repartmientos and 
encomiendas under which the Indians were portioned out 
as serfs to the Spanish colonists. Exceeding brutality 
marked this system of slavery ; and at an early date it 
became necessary to abolish the practice of branding the 
unfortunate serfs with hot irons, like cattle ! Thus began 
the system of cruelty and abuse of the natives under 
Spanish rule — not from Spain, however, but by the 
colonists — whose counterpart was enacted in the South 
American countries contemporaneously. It is to the 
credit of Churchmen that they often took the part of the 
Indians ; and a venerated name to this day among the 
natives of Michoacan is that of Quiroga, the first Bishop 
of that province, who penetrated there to endeavour to 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 103 

counteract the effect of the marked abuses of Guzman, 
president of the first Audiencia, who in 1527 burned to 
death their chief, because he would not, or could not, give 
up his gold. Velasquez, the second viceroy, succeeding 
Mendoza, also had grave questions with the Audiencia. 
He also was an upright man, and his death was hastened 
by these matters. Indeed, the Audiencias were singularly 
unfortunate in their proceedings, and their rule was 
almost always marked by a mistaken policy exaggerated 
by acts of cruelty and oppression. During the time of 
Velasco an expedition sent by him sailed from Mexico 
westward, and took possession in 1564 of the Philip- 
pine Islands, which were so named after the reigning King 
of Spain, Philip II. 

Viceroy succeeded viceroy then in the history of 
Mexico, and tyranny and benevolence followed each 
other alternately in the governing of the people. Under 
the cruel Munoz, a member of the Audiencia, the son of 
Cortes was tortured, and gaols were filled and blood was 
freely shed on political and other charges. In 1571 
another sinister event took place — the establishing of the 
Inquisition. A few years later the foundation of the 
Cathedral of Mexico was laid, the beautiful structure 
which to-day dominates the capital. A matter which 
was early forced upon the attention of the viceroys and 
city councils was the occurrence of flooding of the city 
and attendant epidemics and disaster ; for the peculiar 
hydrographic conditions of the Valley of Mexico rendered 
it liable to floods, the first of which had occurred 1553. 
In 1580 plans were formulated for drainage by means of 
a canal which should give outlet through the surrounding 
hills. In 1603 this project was again brought forward 
and again abandoned ; and in 1607 work was actually 
begun, with a force of nearly half a million Indians, upon 
the great cut of Nochistongo, which still exists and lies 
open to the view of the traveller upon the Mexican railway 
to-day. 

Towards the close of the sixteenth century the ports of 
New Spain, especially Vera Cruz, were visited by those 



104 MEXICO 

enterprising and unscrupulous sea-rovers of Britain, 
Drake, Cavendish, Hawkins, and others, who took toll 
of coast towns and plate-ships throughout the regions 
which Spain claimed as her own, but which pretensions 
were not respected by others of the maritime nations of 
Europe. A memorable period was this in the history 
of the New World, as of the Old, for this flood-tide 
of staunch buccaneers from Britain and Holland did 
but swell onward and culminate in the defeat of the 
Invincible Armada off the Elizabethan coast, 1588. The 
student of the history of Spanish America at this period 
will not spare much sympathy for Spain and Spanish 
misrule. Under Philip H. a constant drain of treasure 
from Mexico and Peru for the needy Mother Country 
had given rise to serious abuses in the mines, and silver 
was extracted to fabulous values and sent to Spain 
under the system of forced labour. 

In 1622 acute questions arose between the Court and 
ecclesiastical authorities, as ever inevitably took place in 
Spain's colonial dominions. Bishops excommunicated 
viceroys, and viceroys fulminated banishment against 
bishops : riotings and beheadings followed, and royal 
interpositions were constantly necessary to uphold or 
condemn the action of one or the other side. In 1629 
an appalling inundation of the City of Mexico took 
place, following a similar occurrence in 1622, due to the 
discontinuance of the drainage A^orks which had earlier 
been begun ; and it is stated that thirty thousand of the 
poor inhabitants of the valley perished as a result. Two 
years later acute dissatisfaction began to arise at the 
great acquisition of wealth and power by the clergy, and 
a memorial sent to Philip IV. by the municipality of 
Mexico begged that no more religious institutions or 
communities might be established, asserting that more 
than half the wealth of the country was in the hands of 
these, and that there were more than six thousand priests 
— most of them idle — in the country. 

From the middle to the close of the seventeenth 
century the social life of the people developed but 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 105 

slowly. The main events were the conspiracy of the 
Irishman Lampart to secure independence for the 
country, the dedication of the cathedral of Mexico, 
the founding of the town of Albuquerque in the terri- 
tory of New Mexico— to-day part of the United States, 
the enactment against the violation of private corre- 
spondence, the fortification of the ports on the Gulf 
coast against the operations of sea-rovers — among them 
the famous British buccaneer Morgan, the eruption of 
Popocatepetl (1665), the sacking of the town of Campeche 
by British ships (1680), the insurrection and murders 
by the Indians of Chihuahua and New Mexico, the 
piratical exploit of Agramonte and his band, who dis- 
embarked at and looted the port of Vera Cruz, imprison- 
ing the greater part of the population in a church, the 
exploration of California, and the operations against the 
French and English settlers upon the Mexican Gulf coast. 
The last years of the century were disturbed by serious 
rioting and tumult in the capital, due to scarcity of food 
and the inundation of the city. 

The first years of 1700 opened with some alarm for 
the Spaniards of Mexico, for England and Spain were at 
war, and it was feared that British naval operations 
might be undertaken against the country. The loss of 
a plate-ship's treasure, due to the war, caused heavier 
taxes to fall upon the colonists, for continued exactions 
marked this century, from Spain, for treasure for the 
prosecution of her wars. The Gulf coast was placed 
in a position of defence against the British, who, how- 
ever, after the capture of Habana, in 1762, concluded 
peace with Spain in the following year. Previous to that 
the English Admiral Anson had captured a galleon on its 
way from Acapulco to Manilla, with two and a half million 
dollars on board. The main events of this century, in 
addition to the foregoing, were the explorations of the 
Jesuits in California (1700), the severe earthquake of 
171 1, the distress among the common people, due to 
famine and oppression, which the Viceroy, the Duke of 
Linares, strove to remedy. In 1734 the first Creole 



106 MEXICO 

Viceroy, the Marquis of Casa Fuerte, born in Lima, 
was appointed, and during his regime the first Mexican 
newspaper was published. During the war between 
England and Spain the Viceroy Figueroa, Marquis of 
Gracia Real, was almost captured by the British, who 
gave chase to the ship in which he came from Spain. 
Further events were the singular phenomenon of the 
forming of the volcano of JoruUo in Michoacan in 1759, 
the celebration of peace between England and Spain in 
1763, the suppression of the Jesuits and their expulsion 
from the country in 1767, under the Marquis de Croix ; 
the continued exactions of the Council of the Indies for 
treasure from the colonists, the clearing of the Gulf of 
Mexico of buccaneers in 1785, the reorganisation and 
improvement of the city of Mexico under Padilla, Count 
of Revillagigedo (1789-94) ; the encouragement of 
agriculture, mining, manufacturing, road-building, ex- 
ploration, improvement of sanitary conditions, and 
amelioration of those concerning the administration of 
justice, which this good viceroy carried out. But at the 
close of the century, under his effete successor, Branci- 
forte (1799), a conspiracy was inaugurated, but frustrated, 
for the massacre of Spaniards, and the establishing of 
the independence of the country. 

At the beginning of the great nineteenth century, 
the long array of viceroys, governors, and priests nears 
its close. The imperial authority of the Spanish 
sovereign, unquestioned since Cortes won the country 
for it, reached its natural waning, urged on and influ- 
enced by world-happenings in European lands reacting 
upon these remote shores of New Spain. Not only was 
this the case in Mexico. The decrepitude of the Mother 
Country, the old age and infirmity which had been 
creeping upon Castile through the excesses of her rulers, 
who learnt nothing from time or circumstance, was laid 
bare to the people of America throughout the vast 
regions held by Spain. Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, 
Argentina — for the voice of Bolivar was ringing through 
the Andes — all in the first and second decades of the 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 107 

progressive nineteenth century were bent upon one stern 
task, the throwing off of the yoke of Spain and the 
estabhshing of native administrations. The flower of the 
earth, the vast and rich tropics and sub-tropics of North 
and South America, from California, Texas, and the 
Rocky Mountains, Mexico, Central America, down 
through the great Andes of Peru and Chile to Cape Horn, 
was in the hands of Spain, and it slipped from the grasp 
of a fooHsh and moribund nation. 

But before entering upon these events let us take a 
final glance and draw a summary of the three long 
centuries — 1521 to 1821 — of this great array of Imperial 
Governors and their rule. Since that day of August 13, 
1521, when Cortes unfurled the standard of Spain over 
the castle of Montezuma : to the consummation of 
Mexican independence, the entry of Iturbide into the 
city of Mexico on September 27, 182 1 : five Governors, 
two Aiidiencias, or Royal Commissions, and sixty-two 
Viceroys had guided the destiny of colonial Mexico. 
Many of the names of these authorities stand out in 
lustre as good and humane, tolerant and energetic for 
the advancement of the colony ; merciful to the Indian 
population, and worthy of the approbation of the history 
of their time. Others were rapacious and cruel, using 
their power for their own ends, and showing that 
ruthless cruelty and indifference to bloodshed and suffer- 
ing — holding the lives of natives as cheap as that of 
animals — which has been characteristic of Spaniards of 
all time. Counts, marquises. Churchmen — all have passed 
upon the scroll of those three hundred years ; some left 
indelible marks for good, some for evil ; whilst others, 
effete and useless, are buried in forgetfulness. The 
Spanish character, architecture, institutions, and class 
distinctions were now indelibly stamped upon the people 
of Mexico. The Aztec regime had passed for ever ; the 
Indian race was outclassed and subordinate ; and the 
mestizos, the people of mixed native and Hispanic blood, 
were rapidly becoming the most numerous part of the 
civilised population of the country. Whatever of good 



108 MEXICO 

had existed in the Aztec semi-civilisation — and there 
was much of use in their land laws and other 
social measures — was entirely stamped out, and the 
sentiment and practice of European civilisation estab- 
lished. It is to be recollected that Spain adopted 
nothing, whether in Mexico or in Peru, of the ancient 
civilisation. Both the Aztecs and Incas lived under a 
set of laws which in some cases were superior to those 
of the conquerors, especially those relating to land- 
holding and the payment of taxes and distribution of 
wealth. Under these primitive civilisations of America 
poverty or starvation was impossible, as every citizen 
was provided for. The Spaniards, however, would have 
none of it, and the land and the Indians, body and soul, 
were the property of their taskmasters. They might 
starve or not, as circumstances might dictate, after the 
fashion of European and American civilisation even of 
to-day, which denies any inherent right to ownership 
and enjoyment of the land and its resources on the part 
of its citizens. But Spain stamped many institutions 
in Mexico with the beauty and utility of her own civili- 
sation. She endowed it with traditions and culture ; she 
gave it the spirit of Western ambition which bids every 
citizen assert his right. The Mexican of to-day owes all 
he has — law, literature, art, and social system, and refine- 
ment and religion — to Spain. 

But let us now take our stand with Hidalgo, the 
warrior-priest of Mexico. The hand of Spain is still 
pressing on the country. The year 1810 has arrived 
and the father of Mexico's independence is uttering his 
famous cry, *' Viva America ! viva religion ! death to bad 
government I " After the native place of Hidalgo this 
message — for such it rapidly became — was known as 
el grito de Dolores — " the call of Dolores." The time 
was ripe for the assertion of independence. Spain was 
invaded by Napoleon ; the King had abdicated. Who 
was the authority who should carry on the govern- 
ment — or misgovernment — of the colony ? asked the 
city Council of Mexico as they urged the Viceroy to 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 109 

retain his authority against all comers. Unfortunately, 
the Spaniards, residents of the capital, precipitated 
lawlessness by rising and seizing the persons of the 
Viceroy Iturrigaray and high ecclesiastics, and some 
political murders followed. But the predisposing causes 
for the assertion of independence were nearer home. 
The British colonies, away to the north-east on the 
same continent, had severed the link which bound 
them to the Mother Country. The embryo of the great 
republic of the United States — poor and weak then — 
was established, and the spirit of independence was in 
the air. Most poignant of all, however, was the feeling 
caused by Spain's treatment of the Mexicans. Instead of 
fomenting the industries and trade of her colonies, Spain 
established amazing monopolies and unjust measures of 
repression. The trade which had grown between Mexico 
and China, and the great galleons which came and went 
from Acapulco — a more important seaport then than now 
even — was considered detrimental to Spain's own com- 
merce. It was prohibited ! The culture of grapes in 
Mexico, where they had been introduced and flourished 
exceedingly well, seemed antagonistic to the wine-making 
industry of Iberia ; Hidalgo's vineyard, upon which he 
had lavished enterprise and care, was forthwith destroyed 
by the Spanish authorities ! Thus industry and commerce 
were purposely stunted in Mexico, as they had been in 
Peru, by Imperial policy, and this went hand in hand 
with the restriction or denial of any political rights, and 
the oppression of the native population in the mines and 
plantations. " Learn to be silent and to obey, for which 
you were born, and not to discuss politics or have 
opinions," ran the proclamation of a viceroy in the latter 
half of the eighteenth century, addressed to the Mexicans ! 
Other contributory causes to the revolution were the senti- 
ments of the great French philosophers of the eighteenth 
century, which had sunk into the Mexican character. 

But it would not be just to proclaim that life under 
Spain's rule was hard or oppressive, or marked by con- 
tinued ferocity and bloodshed. The Mexicans lived in 



110 MEXICO 

relative comfort and even luxury, and amassed wealth. 
Enormous fortunes were made in the mines, and titles of 
nobility were constantly granted from Spain to fortunate 
mine-owners who, by means of suddenly-acquired wealth, 
were enabled to render services to the Crown. Nor can 
the abuses of the natives be cast at Spain's door alto- 
gether. The colonists of Mexico, like those of Peru or, 
indeed, of any of the communities of the New World 
themselves, were the greatest oppressors of the natives 
in extortion, confiscation, forced labour, and the like, and 
it was the " interference " of the Imperial authorities, 
viceroy or Archbishop, against the oppression of the 
encomiendaSf which, even in early days, often gave rise 
to discontent. The sovereigns of Spain enacted laws for 
the protection of the natives, in many cases, and strove to 
better their position. Indeed, it may be said that, to 
the present day, the regulation of affairs betv/een colonists 
and natives — whether in America, Asia, or Africa — requires 
the justice of an imperial home Government, however far 
off from the scene of its " interference." Independence 
in America, whether in the United States or in the 
Spanish States, did not necessarily spell liberty, toleration, 
and brotherhood, whether in civil or religious matters. 

From Spain's unlawful king — the brother of Napoleon 
— or, rather, from the various juntas or bodies formed 
in Spain to oppose the French domination, came claims 
for jurisdiction over Mexico, causing confusion in the 
minds of the colonists, which culminated in the con- 
spiracies of Queretero and Hidalgo's cry, and the 
proclamation of Independence on September 15, 1810. 
Under Hidalgo an insurgent band seized various places 
in the central part of the country, including the great 
silver-producing town and mines of Guanajuato, where, 
unfortunately, these first exponents of liberty committed 
serious excesses. Thence, taking the capital of the State 
of Michoacan — Morelia — they advanced upon the city of 
Mexico. They engaged and defeated the royalist forces 
which had been sent against them by the viceroy Venegas, 
who had succeeded the Audiencia and the deported 



MEXICO AND THE VICEROYS 111 

Itnrrigaray, at Monte de las Cruces, some twenty miles 
from the capital, after a well-contested battle. To the 
generalship of Allende was mainly due this great victory, 
and had Hidalgo followed it up by an attack upon the 
capital city, subsequent operations might have been 
favourable to the insurgents. As it was, the royalists 
under Calleja attacked and captured Guanajuato, taking 
a terrible revenge upon its people — ruthless cruelties 
such as, perpetrated by both sides in these struggles, 
have repeatedly written the history of Mexico's revolu- 
tion in blood. Finally Hidalgo and his associates, at 
Guadalajara and elsewhere, were after valiant fighting, 
discomfited entirely ; disaster overtook them, and the 
warrior-priest, with Allende, Aldama, and Jimenez — 
valiant generals all — was shot at Chihuahua in July, 1811. 
There, in the small chapel of San Francisco, his decapi- 
tated body was laid, and afterwards removed to Mexico. 

Was the spark of liberty extinguished by these reverses ? 
The answer was furnished by yet another militant ecclesi- 
astic — the famous Morelos of Michoacan. Stoutly did 
he and his insurgents maintain the city of Cuantla against 
the royalist forces under Calleja, until famine compelled 
them to evacuate the place under cover of darkness. 
The defence of Cuantla has covered the name of Morelos 
with glory in his country's history, and at the time it was 
watched even from Europe with interest, by the eagle eye 
of the great Wellington. This remarkable soldier-priest 
captured various important places — Orizaba, Oaxaca, and 
Acapulco, and established the first Mexican Congress at 
the town of Chilpancingo, in the State of Guerrero, in 
September, 1813. But the star of Mexico's national 
independence had yet to reach its zenith. Disaster 
overtook the insurgent forces ; all fortune abandoned 
them and Morelos was captured, court-martialled, 
judged by the Inquisition, and shot, in December, 1815. 

The tyranny of Ferdinand VII. of Spain gave birth 
to yet another scourge for Spanish rule in Mexico. 
Mina was a Spaniard, a celebrated guerilla chief in 
the mountains of Navarre, where he waged war against 



112 MEXICO 

Napoleon and the French, and that casus belli being 
terminated, strove to raise a revolution against the 
Spanish sovereign at Madrid. Frustrated there he 
fled to London, and Mexican refugees in that city — 
among them the padre Mier — enhsted his sympathy 
for Mexican independence ; and, having obtained ad- 
herents both in England and the United States, Mier 
landed on the Mexican shores of Tamaulipas and won 
a series of brilliant victories with his small force against 
the Spanish royalists. But again history records, as it 
has ever recorded in the story of freedom throughout the 
world, that baptism of failure which must ever precede 
success ; and this young adventurer for Mexico's inde- 
pendence — he was but twenty-eight — suffered disaster, 
was captured, and shot in November, 1817. 

Thus it was that the heroic efforts of all these who had 
given their lives for the political dream of an independent 
Mexico laid them down — not fruitlessly — upon the morn- 
ing of its consummation. To the credit of the Church it 
is that the spirit of freedom first took material form in 
men nourished in the shadow of the aisles. In Mexico's 
history eternal laurels have crowned the brows of Hidalgo 
and Morelos ; their names are perpetuated in the great 
tracts of land which bear them, and their memory is 
indelibly enshrined in their countrymen's hearts. At 
this period the feathers of Spain's colonial wing were 
being plucked one by one. In all the countries of 
Latin America the irresistible spirit of change, develop- 
ment, and independence was sweeping over the 
New World, bred of the world-march of new thought 
which the French Revolution had set in motion. The 
great nineteenth century had dawned, and the effects of 
the convulsions of social life had been felt, and had 
furnished springs of action even in remote towns of 
the South American Andes and of the Mexican plateau. 
Caracas and Chile in 1810, Buenos Ayres in 1813, Mexico 
in 1821, Peru in 1824 — all showed that the hour of destiny 
had arrived and that new nations were being launched 
upon the world. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 

Monarchical regime of Iturbide — Great area of Mexican Empire — 
Santa Anna — The Holy Alliance — Execution of Iturbide — The 
Monroe doctrine — British friendship — The United States — Masonic 
institutions — Political parties — Expulsion of Spaniards — Revolution 
and crime — Clerical antagonism — Foreign complications — The 
" pie-war " — The Texan war — The slavery question — Mexican 
valour — American invasion of Mexico — Fall of Mexico — Treaty of 
Guadalupe — Cession of California — Gold in California — Benito Juarez 
appears — Conservatives and Liberals — Massacre of Tacubaya — The 
Reform laws — Disestablishment of the Church — Dishonest Mexican 
finance — Advent of Maximilian — The English, Spanish, and French 
expedition — Perfidy of the French — Capture of Mexico City by the 
French — Crowning of Maximilian — Porfirio Diaz — Rule of Maxi- 
milian — Fall of his empire— Death of Maximilian — The tragedy of 
Queretaro — Diaz takes Mexico City — Presidency of Juarez — Lerdo — 
Career and character of Diaz — First railways built — Successful 
administration of Diaz — Political stabihty — Forward policy. 

Mexico began her independent history with a monarch, 
a prominent figure which now stands forth in the history 
of the country, Iturbide — royahst, soldier-general, candi- 
date for viceroy, insurgent chief, and Emperor by turns. 
Despatched at the head of the Spanish Royalist army 
from the capital to crush the insurgent forces under 
Guerrero, who maintained defiance in the south, Itur- 
bide, after conference with the enemy, announced 
to his officers and army that he espoused and would 
support the cause of independence. Whether this was 
a result of conviction of its justice, or whether it 
obeyed dictates of personal ambition to whose success 
a surer road seemed to open by his defection, remained 

Q 113 



114 MEXICO 

best known to himself ; but, be it as it were, his eloquence 
and enthusiasm inspired all who lent ear to him. 

Events followed rapidly. The "plan of Iguala," a 
document proclaiming the independence of Mexico, 
with a suggestion of royal rule, was drawn up and 
promulgated on March 2, 1821, and the change of side 
by its author, Iturbide, called many other persons to 
the insurgent cause, and city after city fell to their 
arms or capitulated at their advance. At the moment 
the last Spanish Viceroy, Don Juan O'Donoju, was 
landing at Vera Cruz, but, sagely taking in the situation, 
he saw that Mexico was lost for Spain, proposed a 
conference, accepted the plan of Iguala, joined forces 
with Iturbide, and, all obstacles having been overcome, 
the insurgent army made its way to the capital, entering 
it, with Iturbide at its head, on September 27, 1821. 
The triumph of the independent cause was assured 
and the birth of the new Empire of Mexico was 
heralded at that moment. 

The geographical extent of Mexico at that date was 
very considerable. It embraced all that enormous area 
of territory of Texas, New Mexico, California, the whole 
of modern Mexico and Yucatan, and the present south- 
bounding republic of Guatemala. This great area of the 
Empire of Mexico was, indeed, the third largest country 
in the world, coming next after the Russian and Chinese 
empires. Such was the great political entity over which 
Iturbide's brief royal sway extended — brief, for, crowned 
Emperor Augustine I. on July 21, 1822, he abdicated on 
March 19, 1823 — a brief kingship of a few months — left the 
country, returned, hoping to benefit it, and was "executed" 
on July 19, 1824 ! Thus passed the Empire — the first 
attempt for royal rule in the Americas, although not the last. 

It is not to be supposed that the birth of independence 
in Mexico had brought forth peace and order among the 
Mexicans. Far from it. If the grito of Hidalgo had 
heralded political hberty it was also the signal for the 
almost continual internecine wars and bloody struggles 
which made the name of Mexico a synonym for revolu- 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 115 

tion and bloodshed for more than half a century, and 
which it only began to lose at the close of the nineteenth 
century. The execution of Iturbide showed the rise of 
that spirit of ferocity and remorseless ingratitude which 
has always characterised the political history and strife of 
Latin America, whether Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, 
or any other of the Hispanic self-governing countries. 
Immediately after the formation of Iturbide's regency, 
which included O'Donoju, whose acts had been repu- 
diated by Spain, dissensions arose, and the first Con- 
stitutional Congress, of February 24, 1822, soon formed 
itself into political sections, some of which regarded 
Iturbide with disfavour. From his position as Emperor 
he threw various Congressmen into prison for opposition 
to the empire (a sentiment which grew rapidly), and 
finally dissolved Congress. At this time the somewhat 
sinister figure of Santa-Anna arose, with a pronuncia- 
miento at Vera Cruz in favour of a republican form of 
government; and although supported by Bravo, Guerrero, 
and others, the insurgents fell before the forces of the 
Emperor. Iturbide, however, did not desire to disrupt 
the nation. He had been crowned and anointed with 
great pomp and ceremony in the beautiful Cathedral of 
Mexico, but he abdicated, and sailed on an English ship 
for Italy, and the Congress passed an Act pronouncing 
him an outlaw and traitor. This Act, as before stated, 
showed the spirit of singular remorselessness and fero- 
cious ingratitude characterising the Spanish-Americans' 
political methods. These were the days of the " Holy 
Alliance," which strove to bring about Spain's re-domina- 
tion of America, and Iturbide, in London, learning of 
the plan, and ignorant of the iniquitous Act launched 
against him, embarked for Mexico, thinking to lend his 
sword on behalf of his native country if she were 
threatened by the Alliance. He was captured and 
illegally sentenced by the Congress of a petty Mexican 
province — Tamaulipas — and shot. Serene and disdainful, 
he fell, a figure which compels more respect than 
censure in the mind of the student of to-day. 



116 MEXICO 

These were portentous times in the history of the New 
World. It must not be forgotten that the independence 
of Mexico took place in what was a reactionary time in 
Europe, and the spirit of the Holy Alliance was rendered 
evident by the attitude of France. But there was Britain 
to be reckoned with. Britain did not hesitate to declare 
for the emancipation of the Spanish colonies, and the 
" Monroe Doctrine " was conceived by the famous words 
of Canning in "calling into being the New World to 
redress the balance of the Old." In August, 1823, 
Canning sounded the American Government as to 
whether they " would act in concert with Britain against 
any aggression against the independence of the Spanish- 
American Republics," which brought forth the famous 
enunciation of President Monroe in Washington "that 
any such aggression would be hostile to themselves and 
dangerous to their peace and safety" — the basis of the 
now well-known Monroe Doctrine. Nevertheless, the 
United States regarded Mexico at that period with little 
favour or sympathy, and indeed this fact has been noted 
with some resentment by Mexican historians. But it is 
to be recollected that the United States itself was weak, 
and could not be expected to antagonise Europe too 
deeply. As it was, Mexico entered into the concert of 
nations without a friend in the world, save as the 
not necessarily disinterested or altruistic declaration of 
Britain and the United States might be construed as 
friendship. But the recognition of Mexico's indepen- 
dence by Britain in 1825 and treaty of friendship brought 
the first foreign capital to the land's resources, whilst 
the war between Mexico and the United States in a 
territorial dispute, showed that a spirit of equity was 
yet foreign to the Anglo-Saxon Republic. 

On the ruins of the transient empire of Iturbide the 
building of the Mexican Republic was begun. The 
National Constitution was proclaimed in October, 1824, 
by the Federal Congress, and the famous insurgent 
leader, Guadalupe Victoria, named President, with Bravo 
as Vice-President. Great Britain and the United States 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 117 

recognised the new Republic in the first year — 1825 — of 
its existence, and the latter country sent its Minister 
in representation. Two political parties came into 
existence — the Centralists, principally Spanish, and the 
Federalists — and to the dissensions of these the continual 
revolutions and disturbances from that date to the middle 
of the century were due. Another disturbing factor was 
the introduction of Masonic lodges — the Scotch rite and 
the York rite, the latter introduced by the American 
Minister, which, becoming adopted by various partisans, 
were respectively opposed by others — and these Masonic 
institutions were the cause of disturbance in the politics 
of Mexico for many years. Among religious people the 
word " Mason " became a term of reproach. Due to the 
work of the York Masons, a great expulsion of Spaniards 
took place in 1827, the Spaniards having been finally 
ousted from the country, losing their last stronghold of 
the Castle of San Juan de Ulua at Vera Cruz in 1825. 

It might have been supposed that Mexico, having 
gained its heart's desire of freedom from the dominion 
of Spain, with its own independent Government, would 
have established itself in peace, and continued on along 
the lines of national development. But it was not so. 
Insistent and sanguinary revolution reared its sinister 
head, to destroy all peace and security, and hold the 
country in barbaric strife for many years. It would be 
tedious to follow the causes and incidents of these pro- 
nunciamientos, imprisonings, seizings, shootings, execu- 
tions, treachery, cruelty, and bloodshed of which this 
half-century of Mexican history is largely built up. The 
profession of arms became almost the only one which 
ambitious men would follow, and ambition and unscru- 
pulousness went hand in hand. A condition of chronic 
disorder grew which paralysed the civil development of 
the country, made bankrupt the national treasury, and 
prostituted the people to becoming mere levies of insur- 
gents, to be drawn upon by this or that revolutionary 
leader whose sinister star for the moment happened to 
be in the ascendant. Armed highwaymen infested the 



118 MEXICO 

roads and inhabited the mountains, and travel was 
impossible without an escort. A terrible disregard of 
human life resulted, and became so strong a characteristic 
of the Mexicans as has even to-day not become eradi- 
cated. 

In 1833 the beginning of a serious cause of civil 
trouble made its appearance, and one which has pro- 
foundly influenced the Mexicans and their life. This was 
the antagonism between the people and the politicians, 
and the clergy. Intensely religious, in the Romish faith, 
the Mexicans, like the South Americans, were subject to 
periods of bitter and relentless feeling against clerical 
domination, the result mainly of the extortions of the 
Church and its insidious acquiring of temporal power 
and amassing of wealth. Speaking generally, the Church 
brought about its own disestablishment by its own fault. 
Enactments were passed at this date to curtail the power 
and privileges of the clergy, declaring that tithes should 
not be collectable by civil law, nor the fulfilment of 
monastic vows enforced, and prohibiting the Church 
from meddling with public instruction. The political 
parties which then grew to being for or against these 
measures respectively were the Liberals and Conserva- 
tives, and to their dissensions were mainly due the sub- 
sequent disorders ; and up to the present day they form 
the party divisions of Mexican politics. These measures 
were the precursor of the famous Reform Laws of 1859, 
under Juarez, which disestablished the Church and 
appropriated its property. 

The incessant turbulence at home was varied from 
time to time by acute questions with foreign Powers. 
In 1829 Spain made a determined attempt to regain 
Mexico, with an expedition of 4,000 men, which, how- 
ever, was absolutely repulsed by the Federal army under 
Santa-Anna and Mier : the Spanish general, Barradas, 
surrendering his armament and flags, at the news of 
which immense rejoicing took possession of Mexico. 
The independence of the Republic was recognised by 
Spain in 1836. Two years later — 1838 — a complication 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 119 

arose with France, and the war known as the Guerra 
de los Pasteles, or " Pie-War," came about, its singular 
designation resulting from the claim of a French pastry- 
cook for sixty thousand dollars as indemnity for the theft 
of some pies ! Expensive confections these proved to 
be, for under the Prince de Joinville the French landed 
and surprised Vera Cruz, attacked the house of Santa- 
Anna — this famous general losing a leg by a cannon-shot — 
whilst, on peace being concluded soon afterwards, Mexico 
agreed to pay $600,000 to settle all questions against her. 

Following upon these incidents revolutions and pro- 
nimciarnientos succeeded each other like autumn leaves, 
and rights and obligations were trampled underfoot 
almost as ruthlessly as these. In 1837 *he Federal 
system had been supplanted by "Centralism," and the 
marchings of armies and the rise and fall of generals and 
Presidents come thick and fast throughout the country. 
A party was formed for the restitution of a monarchical 
form of government following upon the publication of 
a pamphlet by Gutierrez Estrada to the effect — and the 
student of history will scarcely contradict it — that the 
Mexican people were not fitted to live under a Republican 
regime. 

But the greatest event of this period of Mexican 
history now looms up — the war with the United States. 
The origin of this was the question concerning the great 
State of Texas. Much earlier, in 1821, some colonisation 
of that territory had been initiated by the Austins, father 
and son, who founded the city of that name. The 
Austins were Americans, and had obtained permission 
from the Government of Mexico to establish a colony, 
but disagreements soon came about. American fili- 
busters of lawless character began to settle up the 
country, as well as peaceful colonists, and questions soon 
arose as to political representation and influence. A 
decree had been made by the Mexican Government 
forbidding slavery, and this became a poignant cause 
of discontent to the Texans, who, partaking of the 
character of the Americans of that period, saw nothing 



120 MEXICO 

incompatible in holding their fellow-creatures in 
bondage under the ^gis of " Liberty " ! Whatever may 
have been the faults displayed — and there were faults, 
both on the Mexican and the Texan side — the fact 
remains to the honour of Mexico that she forbade slavery, 
which showed her civilisation certainly not inferior 
to her Anglo-Saxon neighbours. The lawlessness and 
system of slavery established in Texas at that period 
bore afterwards a terrible fruit, which the "race-war " and 
" colour-line " of to-day show are not yet eradicated. 
Santa-Anna had been sent against Texas, and he played 
a far from creditable part. The war for Texan independ- 
ence began in 1835, ^^^ ^^^ fortunes varied at first, the 
Mexican general treating the Texans with barbaric 
cruelty upon winning a first engagement. But Sam 
Houston arose — his name is greeted with acclamation 
in Texas to-day — and Santa-Anna, beaten and captured, 
took a discreditable and craven part, signing, in return 
for his release and safety, an agreement to recognise 
Texan independence. Mexico, however, did not 
recognise this, notwithstanding that a Texan Constitu- 
tion was set up in 1836. Returning now to Santa-Anna's 
Presidency, his erratic acts disgusted his countrymen, 
and pronunciamientos followed. Hoping to divert 
popular opinion from himself, Santa-Anna proposed the 
prosecution of a war with Texas, for its recovery, not- 
withstanding his personal previous agreements. 

The assertion of hegemony by the United States 
brought on the beginnings of war between the two 
dominating peoples of the North American continent. 
The Republic of Texas, the United States declared, must 
remain untouched ; any hostile act against it would be 
considered directed against the States itself, with which 
Texas was now to be incorporated. Mexico, torn by 
dissensions of its own, was not in a good position to 
oppose the policy of its neighbour at the moment. The 
revolutions against Santa-Anna culminated in his defeat 
and departure from the country under an act of 
banishment. 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 121 

It is not to be supposed that the Mexicans, oppressed 
as they were by the revolutions and disasters arising 
from their own character, were without any good and 
noble traits which might redeem the lawlessness from 
which they suffered. Many deeds of Mexican arms, of 
self-abnegation in times of peril, and of heroic acts in the 
face of deadly odds, have left glorious episodes in their 
history. It is to be recollected that the struggles in 
which they were engaged arose often from an excess 
of zeal for liberty, and a strong spirit of individualism 
which could not support political oppression or affront. 
An instance of their heroic spirit is afforded by an 
incident in the American War. The storming of the 
Castle of Chapultepec was being carried on by the 
United States troops, who, after severe hand-to-hand 
fighting, penetrated to the fortress and made their way 
to the turret, to haul down the banner upon which the 
colours of Mexico, and the eagle, serpent and cactus 
were displayed. But the turret was disputed hotly by 
a few young Mexicans — boys almost — military cadets 
there. Seeing their beloved flag about to fall into the 
hands of the — to them — hated Yankees,^ they fought to 
the last drop, and, rather than the standard should be 
captured, one of them, wrapping it round his body, 
leaped from the turret and was dashed to pieces on the 
stones below ! 

But we anticipate. The first battle between the forces 
of Mexico and the United States was fought at Palo Alto 
in the north, in May, 1846 ; the command of the former 
being under General Arista, and the latter under General 
Zachary Taylor, but the Mexicans were defeated. Texas 
had been declared a part of the American Union in the 
previous year (December, 1845), and the military occupa- 
tion by the Americans of Mexican territory — for the 
boundaries were ill-defined — formed the culminating 
casus belli. Torn by dissensions at home, and betrayed 
by the treachery of her own generals — among them the 

' The designation of Yankee is very generally used in Spanish- 
American, for the Americans — not, however, in an offensive sense. 



122 MEXICO 

traitorous Paredes — Mexico was in no position to face 
a war with her powerful neighbour. Following on the 
battle of Palo Alto, Santa-Anna, who had returned, had 
been elected President, but had declared he could serve 
his country best by leading its army, and he advanced 
against the Americans under Taylor. Previous to this, 
the Americans, with a force of 6,700 men, had taken the 
city of Monterey — a pretty, Spanish-built town far within 
the border of Mexico, which had been established by one 
of the viceroys — notwithstanding that the Mexicans, 
10,000 strong, under General Ampudea, had defended it. 
The engagement under Santa-Anna lasted for two days — 
the battle of Buena Vista, February, 1847. Its issue long 
hung in the balance, and although the Americans gained 
the victory, it was a doubtful and indecisive one. 

The American Government now decided to push the 
war to the end. But serious obstacles discouraged the 
attempt to march upon the capital of Mexico. The vast 
stretches of appalling desert which at that time formed 
that part of the continent of North America — now 
included in Texas, Chihuahua, and Coahuila— were 
waterless, and without resources, and beaten by a fiery 
sun ; conditions which to-day, in some parts of the 
regions, are scarcely altered. The bravery and ferocity 
of the Mexicans, who were — and are — among the most 
expert horsemen in the world, would have rendered 
the advance over the intervening topographical wastes 
between Mexico's frontier and her capital of extremely 
doubtful issue. Attack was made, therefore, by sea, and 
an army of 12,000 men under General Winifield Scott 
landed at Vera Cruz on March 9, 1847. By September 
of the same year Vera Cruz, Puebla Contreras, Molino 
del Rey, Chapultepec, had all been the scene of strenuous 
engagements ; but Mexico was to lose, and the invading 
Anglo-Saxons, having eaten their way to the heart of the 
Latin Republic, against considerable odds, occupied the 
capital on September 14, 1847. 

Split into factions by political strife, which even the 
hammering at their gates of a common enemy had not 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 123 

sufficed to heal, Mexico received a terrible lesson. The 
history of Mexico had repeated itself. Just as Cortes 
and his Spaniards had penetrated from Vera Cruz to 
Tenochtitlan, thanks to dissensions among the Aztec 
inhabitants of the country, so had the Americans 
ascended over the same route to a similar victory by 
analogous circumstances. Even whilst the victorious 
forces of the Anglo-Saxons were marching onwards, the 
mad political generals and transient Presidents of Mexico 
were launching pronunciamientos, fighting among them- 
selves, and shedding the blood of their own countrymen ; 
and not until February 2, 1848, was peace entered into 
with the Americans, and the treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo 
signed. Mexico ceded to the United States under this 
agreement the area of an empire ! Texas had already 
been lost ; California and New Mexico ^ were given 
up now, rich and extensive regions, although little 
known at the time, as indemnity for which the United 
States Government paid the sum of fifteen million 
dollars. 

So was concluded what the Mexicans have termed "the 
unjust war," and the historian will probably not feel 
called upon to dispute the designation. Great bitterness 
of feeling between the two nations was aroused on 
account of this conquest and cession of territory, which, 
among the Mexicans of the great plateau, is, even at the 
present day, far from being forgotten. It was but a 
short time after the cession of California that gold was 
discovered — the famous days of 1849 — and Mexico did 
not know what she was losing. Perhaps in the interests 
of the development of the fine State of California and its 
progressive people, circumstances were for the best as 
they were. Santa-Anna disappears from the scene in 
1855. After the war he had assumed semi-regal titles 
and pretensions, and had brought about or permitted 
a further cession in the unpopular treaty with the United 

' The English reader may ask, Where is New Mexico ? It is that 
territory lying between Arizona and Texas, forming part of the American 
Union. 



124 MEXICO 

States. Further revolutions and pronunciamientos fol- 
lowed, and civil war divided the country. 

The figure of Juarez, famous in his country's history, 
was appearing, and this remarkable man became Presi- 
dent in January, 1858. In the previous year a new 
Constitution had been adopted, and is that which has 
remained in force to the present day. It was duly 
subjected to a futile pronunciamiento ! Further legal 
enactments were made by the Liberals against the clergy, 
as well as the anti-mortmain statute, framed by Lerdo 
with the object of releasing the great properties held by 
civil and religious corporations ; and it was mainly 
aimed at the power and wealth of the Church — a fore- 
taste of the Reform Laws. 

Benito Juarez was a Mexican in whom no strain of 
Spanish blood existed, his parents having been pure- 
blooded Indians of the Zapotecas of Oaxaca. Shepherd, 
student of divinity. Governor of Oaxaca, Minister of 
Justice, and President by turns, the name and fame of 
this remarkable example of aboriginal intelligence stands 
strongly out in the history of his country. The Con- 
servative party were not slow in launching pronuncia- 
mientos, and disaster befel the Liberal Government of 
Juarez, who was compelled to flee for the time being. 
The whole of the Republic again became the scene of 
desolating civil warfare, due to the bitter struggles of 
the Liberal and Conservative parties. Generals, calling 
themselves Presidents, set up Governments in various 
parts of the country, and pronunciamientos and blood- 
shed were the order of the day. But chief among the 
sanguinary scenes of this appalling drama, carried out 
with the religion of Christ as its mainspring, was the 
Tacubaya massacre. This place, a beautiful residential 
suburb of the City of Mexico, became the field of a 
strenuous engagement, the victorious forces of the 
Conservatives, under General Marquez, signalling their 
triumph by an abominable massacre, in which the 
medical attendants, including an English physician, all 
of whom had voluntarily given their services for succour 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 125 

of the wounded, were taken out and deliberately put to 
death in cold blood, by order of the ferocious Marquez. 
Another murder lies to the account of Marquez — that 
of Ocampo, one of the best of the Liberal statesmen. 
But the Liberal cause gained ground. Juarez landed at | 
Vera Cruz ; and the famous Reform Laws of July 12, 
1859, were made, forming part of the basis of the ad- 
ministration set up at Vera Cruz. This code was directed 
against clericalism. The property of the Church was 
confiscated and nationalised ; the clergy were severely 
arraigned as the authors of the sanguinary and fratricidal 
wars which had devastated the country ; accused of 
abusing their power in a scandalous manner, with baleful ■ 
control of their wealth ; and, in short, the Church was/ 
disestablished and religious freedom proclaimed, together 
with the abolishing of religious orders and fhstitutions, 
whilst marriage was later declared a civil contract. 

Torn by their unceasing dissensions at home, the un- 
fortunate Mexican nation now brought upon themselves 
complications from abroad. The Government of Juarez, 
having triumphed over the Conservatives, had been 
installed in the capital amid popular enthusiasm. But 
what was the state of the country over which it ruled ? 
Sources of public revenue were paralysed or hypothe- 
cated ; there was not a dollar in the treasury ; and private 
enterprise and the activities of ordinary wealth were 
ruined. Funds must be obtained in some way ; and an 
Act of Congress was passed in July, 1861, suspending the 
payment of Mexico's foreign debts. This grave step laid 
Mexico open to the most serious charges in European 
capitals, and her action was stigmatised as repudia- 
tion and robbery, especially in London, where the first 
Mexican loan had been contracted in 1823. This act of 
the Mexican Liberal Congress was naturally painted in 
its worst colours by the reactionary representatives of 
the Conservative party in Europe, who, desirous of 
bringing back a priestly and monarchical regime, thought 
this an opportunity and motive for compassing it by 
means of European intervention. In justice to Mexico 



126 MEXICO ' 

at that period it must be chronicled that repudiation of 
her debts was not intended ; only suspension in her 
temporary distress. But the reprehensible Act of Presi- 
dent Miramon, in violating the British Legation and 
seizing $660,000 belonging to the British bondholders, 
in November, i860, had not been forgotten. 

Maximilian — the picturesque and melancholy-appear- 
ing figure : the ill-fated monarch of an unnatural New 
World empire — was the culminating figure of Mexico's 
internecine warfare and questionable financial acts. The 
story of Maximilian stands out from the pages of Mexico's 
history in pathetic colours, wringing a sigh from us as we 
scan its pages, or halt a space in the museum of Mexico's 
capital before the gilded tawdry coach of the ill-fated 
Austrian, which is preserved there in musty ruin. For up 
rose Napoleon III., pricking up his ears at this suggestion 
of a monarchy in America ; and, urged by him, the tri- 
partite convention by France, Spain, and England was 
brought to being in London, October, 1861, whose pur- 
pose was — or, at any rate by the British and Spanish — 
intervention and the enforcement of the just claims 
of their bondholders against the defaulting Mexicans. 
Sailing from Europe, the fleets of the three Powers 
arrived at Vera Cruz at the end of the year. No idea of 
conquest of, or interposition in, Mexican territory was 
intended in this action, only enforcement of just claims, 
and so it was proclaimed ; and a conference having been 
celebrated with the Mexican representatives, and a pre- 
liminary agreement entered into, the Spanish and British 
ships in all sincerity withdrew and sailed for home. Not 
so the French — and the charge of perfidy is recorded 
against France for her act — for the troops of Napoleon 
repudiated the agreement and entered upon a war of 
conquest or subjugation. Severe reverses marked their 
campaign at first, the Mexicans obstinately defending the 
integrity of the country, under the administration of 
Juarez, with able generals at the front. Among these 
was Diaz — later the famous President Diaz — who won 
some early laurels in the defence of Puebla. But Puebla 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 127 

fell, Juarez abandoned the capital, and the French, under 
General Forey, entered the City of Mexico without 
opposition and set up a junta of prominent Mexicans 
to decide on the form of government to be adopted. 
The decision of the jttnta was for a limited monarchy, 
whose sovereign should be designated Emperor of 
Mexico, and whose crown should be offered to Maxi- 
milian, Archduke of Austria, or, failing him, to some other 
CathoHc prince who might be nominated by "the kind- 
ness of his Majesty Napoleon III. of France!" So it 
befel ; a deputation of Mexicans was sent to the Haps- 
burg prince in his castle upon the far-off Adriatic Sea. 
Maximiliano accepted under certain conditions ; arrived in 
Mexico, and in company with his wife Carlota, daughter 
of Leopold, King of the Belgians, was crowned with great 
solemnity in the Cathedral of Mexico in June, 1864. 

Meantime the Liberal party, thus ousted from the seat 
of Government, was not idle. Juarez established his 
administration in successive northern towns, approaching 
the United States border. War to the death against the 
monarchical system, which had been crammed down the 
Liberal throat, was their slogan and source of inspiration. 
The doughty Porfirio Diaz, nominated to a high com- 
mand, was despatched to Oaxaca ; besieged there by the 
French under Bazaine, making a most determined stand ; 
surrendered at length through lack of food, ammunition, 
and disaffection among his own people ; was captured, 
imprisoned ; escaped ; turned against the pursuing 
enemy and overcame them, re-capturing again his native 
city, and once more turned the tables upon the Con- 
servatives and the Monarchy. 

The star of Empire, which shone for less than 
three years under Maximilian, now sets with dramatic 
suddenness. From the first it was seen that the Emperor 
was no bigoted Churchman, and his refusal to rescind the 
clauses of the Reform Laws involved the Imperial Govern- 
ment in grave questions and antagonisms with the dis- 
appointed clericals ; and the Emperor, indeed, showed 
himself much in sympathy with the Liberals. These, 



128 MEXICO 

however, bent upon their own absolute way, would hold 
no parley with him, notwithstanding that overtures had 
been made to Diaz after the recapture of Oaxaca. 

The end approaches rapidly. The city of Puebla, a 
Conservative stronghold, falls before Diaz and three 
thousand of the Republican army, and siege is laid to 
the City of Mexico in April, 1867. Maximilian had seen 
the trend towards the inevitable, but had striven, during 
the previous year, to consolidate the clerical party, whilst 
the Empress Carlota — brave and pathetic figure of these 
dramatic events — had gone to France to implore Napo- 
leon to countermand his perfidious withdrawal of the 
French troops, and to endeavour to secure a settlement 
of the matters at issue with the clericals with Pope Pius 
IX. It was useless. The French army left the shores of 
the country they had wantonly outraged, abandoning the 
unfortunate figure-head placed there as a result of French 
machinations, with only the Belgians and Austrians of 
Maximilian's immediate following. The ill-fated Austrian 
wavered between his advisers — whether to abandon the 
thankless task upon which he was engaged, or whether to 
stay with it to the bitter end. He ultimately chose the 
latter course ; reversing a first intention of abdicating, 
returned to Mexico city ; left thence for Queretaro, and 
intrenched himself, with an effective force of some nine 
thousand Imperialists, in that town. The Republicans, 
twenty-one thousand strong, laid strenuous siege to and 
attacked the place, suffering several repulses; but the 
treachery of Lopez, of the Imperialist army, afforded 
them the entrance to the town, and Queretaro fell. 

The fate of the Emperor Maximilian was now in the 
hands of Juarez. A court-martial was called, and Maxi- 
milian was permitted to select counsel for his defence. 
The deliberations resulted in a sentence of death against 
Maximilian and his two chiefs and faithful generals, 
Miramon and Mejia. Juarez took his pen to sign the 
death-warrant, when before him — the Indian President, 
son of a despised race — there appeared and kneeled the 
figure of the Austrian princess, Carlota, supplicating for 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 129 

clemency for her husband. It is said that Juarez wavered, 
but at that fateful moment the stern Lerdo appeared at 
the door of the apartment, and shaking a warning finger, 
uttered those words which sealed the doom of Maxi- 
milian, and which have come down ever since in 
Mexico's history as a species of national axiom — "Ahora 
6 nunca se salva la patrial''^ Juarez signed; the 
condemned Emperor took his stand upon the Cerro de 
las Campanas outside Queretaro, and faced the file of 
carbines pointed at his breast, serene and dignified. 
"Take you the place of honour in the centre," he said in 
turn to Miramon and Mejia — the latter a full-blooded 
Indian general who had been privately offered, and had 
refused, a pardon by Juarez. But both declined, and the 
three brave men faced forward. A volley rang out upon 
the early morning air, and with it passed the life of 
Maximilian and his chiefs, and the last Imperial regime 
of Mexico. 

This execution — or murder — of Maximilian — for the 
student is at liberty to term it which he will, according 
to the trend of his sympathies — took place on June 19, 
1867. The wife of the ill-fated member of the un- 
fortunate House of Hapsburg went mad, and in that 
state lived long in Europe. To the commander of the 
Austrian warship, who, arriving at Vera Cruz, demanded 
the remains of the " Emperor of Mexico," answer was 
returned by the Mexicans that no such person was 
known ; when he then requested the body of " Maxi- 
milian of Austria " it was delivered to him. " Savages 
and barbarians" was the verdict of Europe against the 
Mexicans for the termination of this drama, and only of 
recent years — 1901 — have diplomatic relations been re- 
opened between Mexico and Austria. The impartial 
historian sees in the denouement the dictates of fate for 
a Republican regime throughout the New World, and 
acknowledges the philosophical right for this form of 
government ; although it may well be open to question 
if the republicanism of the Americans has yet brought 
' " Now or never for our country's salvation," 
10 



130 MEXICO 

much of advancement to mankind in general or to theii 
own civilisation in particular. The figure of Maximilian, 
weak though it may have been, was not without nobility; 
nor did his brief rule lack possibilities for the nation — 
one party of which had invited his advent and the other 
consummated his destruction. 

The City of Mexico capitulated to Diaz. President 
Juarez returned thither and assumed the reins of govern- 
ment amid general approval and that popular enthusiasm 
which usually acclaims a change of regime in any time 
or country, and which was followed a few years later by 
renewed dissensions. But the figure and name of Juarez 
are engraved on the history of his country among its 
greatest, and furnish an example of the possibilities of 
intellect and power to be encountered in the aboriginal 
races of Mexico, stifled but not destroyed by the advent 
of the white race. Juarez is the only President of 
Mexico who has died in the occupancy of his office ! 
He was followed by Lerdo, against whose government a 
pronuncianiiento and revolution was launched, with a 
result that Lerdo fled to the United States. An event of 
much industrial importance to the country took place 
during Lerdo's term — the completion and opening of 
the railway from Vera Cruz to the capital, in January, 
1873, thus placing in connection with the seaboard and 
the outside world the much-contested City of Mexico, 
with its chequered history. 

The fall of Lerdo was the signal for, or rather the 
result of, the coming forward of the most prominent 
figure of Mexico's modern history — a figure, more- 
over, which links the turbulent past with progressive 
Mexico of to-day. This is the figure of Porfirio Diaz, 
the son of an innkeeper : student for priesthood, law 
student, revolutionist, soldier, statesman, and President 
by turns. Diaz has also Indian blood in his veins, upon 
the maternal side. After the events connected with the 
fall of the Empire the ambitions of Diaz found outlet in 
the disaffections against Lerdo's government. It was 
hardly to be expected that the ambitions and jealousies 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 131 

of the times could yet give way to consolidation for 
national interests and desire for peace and development ; 
and the only hope for the country was in the advent of a 
strong man and a strong system, such as, under better 
auspices, the monarchical regime might have afforded. 
The strong man appeared in the very antithesis of 
monarchy — Porfirio Diaz ; and the autocratic regime — 
almost monarchical except in name — in the military-civil 
government which followed. Good, indeed, seemed to 
proceed out of evil, and the autocratic President of 
Mexico came through chaos to power as a revolutionist 
himself, by the edge of the sword, shedding his own 
countrymen's blood, and borne on the crest of an in- 
surrectionary wave. Yet there was more behind the 
fortunes and character of Diaz than mere selfish ambition 
or the habit of a disorderly soldier-spirit. He had early 
conceived Liberal views against clerical domination, and 
his earlier career showed loftier aspirations than those 
of the ordinary tawdry revolutionist of the times, who, 
under the name of liberty, indulged too often personal 
or party licence against law, decency, and humanity. 
Diaz, after the revolution, assumed executive power in 
November, 1876, and after a brief interval took the oath 
and Presidential chair on May 5, 1877. The term of 
President Gonzalez followed, and during this measures 
of civil progress were inaugurated. Diplomatic relations 
were reopened with Great Britain, and a beginning 
made to adjust the debt with the foreign bond-holders. 
The Mexican Central Railway, linking the Republic with 
its neighbour the United States, was inaugurated, and 
was an important factor in the political settling-down of 
the country. 

Diaz was re-elected to the Presidency for December i, 
1884. From that period until the present day he has held 
the office continuously — seven Presidential terms — a 
regime which has partaken more of the nature of a heredi- 
tary sovereignty than of an elective post. It is to be recol- 
lected, however, that in all Spanish-American countries — 
and Mexico has been no exception — intimidation and 



132 MEXICO 

bribery at the polls and breaches of constitutional law have 
been potent factors in election matters. It would not be 
correct, however, to ascribe these influences to the latter 
terms of office of President Diaz, who, there can be little 
doubt, has enjoyed the confidence of his fellow-citizens 
and a majority of their votes.* His enemies, the in- 
evitable enemies of a political chief, have been few and 
silent ; and, moreover, in these years of Mexican history 
sudden and silent retribution has been visited upon the 
least whisper or suspicion of pronunciamientos, whether 
near the capital or whether in the remote towns of the 
great plateau I 

A certain main and important condition presented 
itself to the comprehension of Diaz early in his adminis- 
tration, and compliance with it has been one of the prin- 
cipal contributing causes to his success. This was the 
necessity for the bettering of the means of communication 
of the country. Roads, railways, and telegraph multiplied 
accordingly under the fostering work of the Diaz Govern- 
ments, mainly by inducements held out to foreign 
capitalists ; partly by the expenditure of national funds. 
When troops and messages can be moved and flashed 
about rapidly pronunciamientos tend to diminish. The 
credit of the country abroad was firmly re-established in 
1886 by a proper adjustment of the foreign debt with 
Mexico's European creditors ; and as a result further 
loans were secured. The Mexican National Railway, 
traversing the country from the capital to the United 
States frontier, was opened in November, 1888, as well 
as a line southwards to Oaxaca, later ; and thus the 
nineteenth century closed with an era of growing 
stability and prosperity at home and a creditable reputa- 
tion abroad. The old elements of unscrupulous ambition 
had been outlived, and the best men the country pro- 

' The character of President Diaz has been drawn in the various books 
recently written on Mexico. It is not the intention of this work to indulge 
in the flattery which in some cases has been given to him, especially in 
Mexican books. I had the pleasure of meeting the President on a brief 
occasion some years ago. Diaz completes the 80th year of his strenuous 
life in 1910. (See also page 165.) 




THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, GENERAL PORFIRIO DIAZ. 



[To face p. 132. 



EVOLUTION OF MODERN MEXICO 133 

duced were directing its governing and development. 
The fiscal policy of the administration had been wisely 
thought out and applied, and had proved a success, and 
difficulties due to the depreciation of the silver coinage 
had been weathered. 

The twentieth century opened for Mexico with a continu- 
ance of the same governing elements, policy, and general 
development, Diaz being re-elected for the term beginning 
in December, 1900, and again for the term 1904-1910 : 
this being his seventh tenure of office. Important public 
works have been carried to completion during these last 
periods, chief among them being the drainage of the 
Valley of Mexico — that historical scheme begun by the 
viceroys — and the harbour works of Vera Cruz; rendering 
shipping safe from the great " northers " which since the 
time of Cortes have harassed vessels lying in the bay. 
These works were performed by British firms ; and yet 
another, under similar auspices, was the completion of 
the Tehuantepec Railway — a trans-Continental line from 
the Atlantic (Gulf) to the Pacific ; all of which works 
are of really historical importance. The present time — 
1909 — finds Mexico an established power on her continent, 
with considerable opportunities for good or evil in the 
influence of international matters in North and Central 
America, and with her own future well mapped out in so 
much as the ingenuity of her public men may devise. 

What this future will really be must depend upon the 
temper of her people and the prudence of political 
changes. The staunch leader who, thanks to the species 
of limited Presidential Monarchy which circumstances 
have required and permitted, has successfully carried on 
the leadership must, in the natural course of events, yield 
this up. This will afford an opportunity for ambition 
and possible strife on the part of those elements which 
have been overawed in the past, and which it is too 
much to expect have been altogether eliminated. Then 
will be the real test of Mexican self-control and prudence, 
and it seems probable that these will be exercised. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PHYSICAL conditions: mountains, tablelands, and 

FLORA AND FAUNA 

Geographical conditions — Tehuantepec — Yucatan — Boundaries and 
area — Population — Vera Cruz — Elevations above sea-level — Lati- 
tude — General topography — The Great Plateau — The Sierra 
Madres — The Mexican Andes — General structure — The coasts — 
Highest peaks — Snow-cap and volcanoes — Geological formation — 
Geological scenery — Hydrographic systems — Rivers — Navigation — 
Water-power — Lakes — Climate and temperatures — The three climatic 
zones — Rainfall — Snowfall — Flora and fauna — Soil — Singular cactus 
forms — The desert flora — The tropical flora — Forest regions — Wild 
animals — Serpents, monkeys, and felidae — Sporting conditions — 
Birds. 

We have traced the evolution of the Mexican people 
through the phases of their chequered history : let us 
now examine more closely their habitat, the country and 
its physical structure, and natural clothing ; its mountains 
and plains and accompanying vegetation, no less in- 
teresting and picturesque in their respective fields. 

The geographical conditions of Mexico and its geology 
and accompanying topography are peculiar, and indeed 
in some respects unique. Mexico has been termed " the 
bridge of the world's commerce," ' and, in fact, its 
geographical position between the two great oceans of 
the world — the Atlantic and the Pacific, and between, or 
joining, two great continents. North and South America 
— would seem to warrant such a description, especially 
having regard to the coming development of that part 

' Humboldt. 
134 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 135 

of the world and the rise of the Pacific Ocean in com- 
mercial importance. It is indeed a favourite theory of 
some writers that the commercial and civilised centre of 
the world is destined to shift from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific Ocean. This theory, which must be charac- 
terised, however, as open to much conjecture, has been 
lightly discussed elsewhere in these pages. But be it 
as it may, the situation of the cornucopia-shaped land of 
Mexico is of great and growing importance. Among the 
geographical features of almost international importance 
is the remarkable isthmus of Tehuantepec — now traversed 
by a railway — which separates by only 120 miles the 
deep waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean systems. 
It is an isthmus of Panama of greater width, and 
certainly may form a *' bridge of commerce." 

Mexico — apart from the Yucatan peninsula — consists 
of a great triangular-shaped area, forming the tapering end 
of the North American Continent. It is bounded on the 
north and north-east by the United States; on the east by 
the Atlantic waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Cam- 
peche, and Caribbean Sea ; on the west and south by the 
Pacific Ocean ; and on the south-east by Guatemala and 
British Honduras. Mexico is, therefore, a close neighbour 
of a part of the British Empire ! The greatest length 
of the country is 2,000 miles nearly, its greatest width 760 
miles, and its area 767,000 square miles. Thus it is nearly 
nine times the size of Great Britain, or as large as 
Great Britain, France, Germany, and Austria-Hungary 
all joined together ; and this enormous area is inhabited 
at present by only fourteen or fifteen million people. 

Although Mexico lies half within and half without the 
tropics, it is generally known as a tropical country ; and, 
indeed, the main gateway to it. Vera Cruz, is a tropical 
seaport, which may well give rise to such a general im- 
pression upon the part of the European traveller. A 
different impression, however, is acquired upon entering 
the country from the United States to the north. No tropic 
forests and bright-plumaged birds are encountered there 
as at Vera Cruz ; instead are vast stretches of desert lying 



136 MEXICO 

within the temperate zone, alternating with cultivated 
plains and interspersed with large towns. The traveller, 
roused by the shriek of the locomotive, looks forth into 
the clear dawn of the chill Mexican morning from the 
window of his sleeping-berth upon the Pullman car, as 
the train speeds over the plateau. 

No fact is more strongly borne upon the traveller in 
Andine and Cordillera-formed countries than that latitude 
forms but an unreliable guide to climate and tempera- 
ture. Nearness to the Equator, with its accompanying 
torridity, is often counterbalanced by high elevations 
above sea-level, with consequent rarefied air and low 
temperature — a combination which embodies consider- 
able advantages, as well as some drawbacks. These 
conditions are very marked in Mexico. Entering the 
country from Vera Cruz, we rise rapidly from sea-level to 
7,410 feet at the City of Mexico; entering from the United 
States, we rise imperceptibly from 4,000 feet to the same 
elevation. As to its geographical position, the country 
extends over 18° of latitude, from 32^0 north to 14^° 
north, and it lies between the 86th and 11 8th meridian 
west of Greenwich. 

Topographically the country offers a very varied 
surface, the main features of which are the Great Plateau, 
the extensive, lofty tableland known as the mesa central ; 
and the Pacific and Atlantic slopes, formed by the flanks 
of the Sierra Madres mountains towards these oceans 
respectively. At the base of these ranges are the lowlands 
of the coasts ; whilst the eastern extremity of the country 
is formed by the singular plains of the peninsula of 
Yucatan. 

A large part of the country's area is taken up by this 
great plateau of Anahuac, as it is sometimes termed. 
The tableland is bounded both on the east and the west 
by ranges of mountains, known as the Eastern Sierra 
Madre and the Western Sierra Madre respectively. These 
mountains close in towards the south, enclosing the table- 
land in a tapering form, and the Valley of Mexico which 
forms its extremity. On the north the mesa central is 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 137 

intersected by the Rio Grande, which forms the boundary 
of Mexico with the United States ; and the plateau 
continues thence into the territory of that country. The 
length of this plateau, from north-west to south-east, or, 
roughly, upon its longitudinal axis, is approximately 
800 miles, and its greatest width between the summits of 
the enclosing mountains about 500 miles. The tableland 
is, however, intersected by various lesser ranges of hills, 
and is not by any means a flat, unbroken expanse. 
Nevertheless, its formation is such that a vehicle might 
be driven from the City of Mexico for vast distances 
without having resort to roads. It may be looked upon 
physically as a great plane, inclined or tipped from 
south to north, or from the City of Mexico to the 
United States border. The general elevation above 
sea-level of the inclined plane at its southern end is 
8,000 feet, and that at its northern 4,000 feet — a slope 
of 4,000 feet in a direction away from the Equator ; 
and a fact which greatly influences its climate. 
The Mexican plateau is the result of after-formation 
from the mountain system of the country. The Sierra 
Madres are the Mexican Andes, part of the chain- 
formation of those vast Cordilleras which are most 
developed in South America, on the one hand, and are 
encountered in the Rocky Mountains of North America 
on the other. In South America the Andes consist of 
huge parallel chains with river and lake-basins of 
profound depth between them. In Mexico the same 
formation must have existed, but the basins have been 
filled up by material discharged from volcanoes and from 
the erosion of the mountains themselves, doubtless 
caused by the severe and sudden rain-storms and rapid 
changes of temperature characteristic of these regions. 
Thus the great plateau may be likened to a number 
of filled-up troughs, through whose general surface the 
tops of mountain ranges still protrude in "islands" or 
groups, whose crests form the intersecting hills of the 
plateau. Some of the plains of the plateau between 
these crests are hydrographic entities, with no outlet for 



138 MEXICO 

their waters, as in the case of the Bolson of Mapimi — a 
vast rock-wilderness of 50,000 square miles in area, 
with great swamps and lake bottoms — and the Valley of 
Mexico. These great depressions, indeed, in a measure 
bear out the analogy or relationship with the South 
American Andes, as in the case of the hydrographic 
entity of Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, the great 
inland sea whose waters have no outlet save by evapora- 
tion. The enormous depth of alluvial soil found in the 
bolsones or depressions of the Mexican plateau, formed 
from rock-decay, or of volcanic material accumulated by 
the great lakes of recent times which covered them in 
the central part of the great mesa central, bear striking 
evidence to the filling-up process of the past. In the 
neighbourhood of the River Nazas wells have been sunk 
to great depths in this material without a single stone or 
rock of any description being encountered. Indeed, on 
some of the cotton lands of this region I have looked in 
vain to find even a pebble, so fine is the alluvial soil. 
The stratified rocks, which are scarce upon the southern 
part of the plateau, become much more prevalent in the 
north, and the vast sandy, arid plains, which cover 
enormous areas of land in Chihuahua and Coahuila 
extending thence past the valley of the Rio Grande into 
the great American deserts of Texas and New Mexico, 
are doubtless formed from the disintegration of the sand- 
stone and chalk horizons of that region. 

Leaving for a moment our examination of the great 
plateau, let us observe the coast. On both sides of the 
country — the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean — we 
observe that the littoral is composed of sandy lowlands. 
On the eastern or Gulf side these coastal plains vary in 
width from a few miles up to a hundred miles ; for the 
Cordillera approaches near to the sea at Vera Cruz, and 
recedes far from it in Tamaulipas. Upon the Pacific side, 
however, the coastal plains are more restricted in width, 
as the Cordillera runs nearer the sea-coast, but leaving 
a wider strip at the north. Indeed, in the State of 
Guerrero the Sierras rise almost abruptly from salt water, 




S o 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 139 

and the waves bathe the roots of the trees which cover 
the mountain slopes. The country rises rapidly from 
both oceans — more rapidly from the Pacific side — and 
forms a succession of terraces upon the slopes of the 
Sierra Madres, traversed by profound transversal cafions 
and culminating in the crests of these mountains which 
enclose the great plateau on both sides. 

The Sierra Madres, or Mexican Andes, have the general 
Andine direction of north-north-west. They are divided 
into two systems — the western and the eastern — whose 
respective crests in the north are from 400 to 500 miles 
apart, enclosing the mesa central, and which approach 
towards the south. The Pacific range has some im- 
portant ramifications from its main system, but the 
general Andine structure is maintained. The range is 
again encountered in the long peninsula of North- 
Western Mexico — known as Lower California — where it 
parallels the eastern side of this great tongue of land for 
more than 700 miles. Indeed, a study of Mexico's oro- 
graphy and the delineation upon the map shows the 
series of parallel features formed by alternate mountain- 
folds and intervening basins — the peninsula of Lower 
California ; the Gulf of the same name ; the Western 
Sierra Madre ; the intersecting crests of the great plateau; 
the Eastern Sierra Madre, and the Gulf Coast. Thus 
these huge " earth-wrinkles " of the Andine system of 
South America show their characteristics in Mexico, 
modified, however, by cross-agencies of volcanic nature. 
The map of Mexico shows strikingly how the country is 
formed upon its rocky framework, the ribs of these vast 
folds. 

The passes over these mountain ranges, giving access 
to the plateau-interior of Mexico from the oceans, vary 
from 8,500 feet to 10,000 feet, the range upon the Pacific 
side being generally the higher. But the highest 
peaks rise much above these altitudes, in some few 
cases reaching beyond the perpetual snow-line, 
although ever much lower than the Andes of South 
America. Three culminating peaks only pass the snow- 



140 MEXICO 

line in Mexico, although others of the crests and summits 
are frequently snow-covered. The first of these three 
peaks is Orizaba, or Citalteptl — the " Star Mountain " of 
the native — the beautiful and symmetrically formed cone 
whose gleaming snow-cap is seen by the approaching 
traveller far over the stormy waters of the Gulf as he 
approaches the shores of Vera Cruz. So Grijalva and 
Cortes saw it; so the voyager of to-day sees it, as its 
snowy point seems to hang in mid-sky, its base buried 
in clouds and its gleaming summit surrounded by the 
azure of the tropic firmament. The summit of Orizaba 
is 18,250 feet above the level of the sea — the highest 
point in Mexico. Next in point of altitude is the famous 
Popocatepetl — the " Smoking Mountain," so called by the 
natives for its eruptions in centuries past, for it is no 
longer active. Some of the adventurous Spaniards of 
the band of Cortes reached the rim of the crater on its 
summit, and, indeed, later the Spaniards extracted sul- 
phur therefrom, and various ascents have been made 
recently. Its last eruption was in 1665. The summit of 
Popocateptl is 17,250 feet above sea-level, and it is of 
characteristic conical form. The third perpetually snow- 
capped peak is Ixtacihuatl — the " Sleeping Woman," so 
named by the natives from the fanciful suggestiveness of 
a reclining woman — and its summit is 16,960 feet above 
the sea. The Indian names of these striking monuments 
of nature serve to show the poetical nomenclature which 
the natives of the Americas ever gave to topographical 
features. Especially was this the case among the Aztecs 
of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. The last-named 
mountain is not of the characteristic conical form which 
volcanoes generally have, its outline — beautiful as it is 
— forming a serrated edge, and it appeared singularly 
striking from Tacubaya, where I first beheld it. Never- 
theless, all these three mountains — the highest points 
in the country — are of volcanic origin. The majestic 
and poetic peaks of the " Smoking Mountain " and the 
" Sleeping Woman " form part of the Sierra Nevada, or 
Cordillera of Anahuac, in company with Malinche, 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 141 

another of the highest culminating peaks, 14,630 feet 
above sea-level. This chain is a cross ridge of volcanic 
and more recent formation than that of the general 
system of the Mexican Cordilleras, and forms, as it 
were, a line of volcanic action at right angles to the 
general Andine trend, associated perhaps with Orizaba 
on the east and the volcano of Colima (12,990 feet ele- 
vation) on the west. This latter mountain is the only 
active crater in Mexico at the present time. The great 
Malinche, or Malintzin — possibly named after the fair 
interpreter of Cortcz — is a mountain of striking form, 
with its brow often snow-covered, upon the borders of 
the plateau of Tlaxcala, whilst the singular Cofre de 
Perote, with its box or coffin-like summit (13,400 feet 
above sea-level), is a prominent landmark of the eastern 
slope of Mexico's road from Vera Cruz, overhanging the 
summit of the Sierra Madre at the limit of the lowlands. 
Other high peaks are the Nevedo de Toluca, often snow- 
crowned, 14,950 feet ; and Tancitaro, 12,660 feet. 

The Mexican mountains are mainly of underlying 
granite formation. The Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary 
Ages rocks are much in evidence throughout the country, 
whilst the highest ranges, as we have seen, are of volcanic 
origin. The singular plains of Yucatan are largely of 
calcareous formation, probably a Tertiary limestone. One 
of the most plentiful rocks over vast areas of Mexico, 
and that which forms the striking variation of scenery, 
is the mountain limestone, the excessively hard stratified 
crystalline rock of the Lower Cretaceous period. This 
rock formation extends right across Mexico — although 
isolated in places — from sea to sea, and its existence 
possibly goes to show that the Pacific and the Gulf were 
one, in earlier geological times. The predominating 
shades of these extensive strata are blue and grey ; 
occasionally there are black bands alternating, and they 
lie upheaved at such angles as remind the traveller of 
the still more pronounced strata of the high sum- 
mits of the Peruvian Andes.^ The mountain limestone 
' See my book, "The Andes and the Amazon." 



142 MEXICO 

is of very hard texture ; white and crystalline, it wears 
away but slowly under the action of the elements, 
although on the steep mountain tracks over which we 
are journeying we shall observe it broken into cubes 
hke sugar, beneath the incessant trampling of hoofs, or 
worn away to silver-sand and borne down by the stream- 
lets into the river valleys. 

The rock-formations of the tablelands are those to 
which Mexico owes her fame as a silver-producing 
country, and it is in the high region, from 5,000 to 9,500 
feet above sea-level, that her historical mines are encoun- 
tered; and the zone of territory embraced by these well- 
known centres, from Pachuca to Guanajuato and onwards 
to Chihuahua, may be described without exaggeration as 
the richest argentiferous region on the surface of the 
globe. It is to the metamorphic formation that the abund- 
ance of mineral ores is due, and the igneous rocks 
which have given rise thereto — the granites, basalts, 
diorites, porphyries, and others. This metalliferous zone 
is more than 1,500 miles long, extending from the State 
of Chihuahua and Sonora in the north to Oaxaca and 
Chiapas in the south. 

As we cross the coast-zone from Vera Cruz we are 
enabled to observe something of the orographical struc- 
ture of the country and the agencies that have been at 
work. The coastal plains are sedimentaries of Tertiary 
formation. The medanos, or sand-dunes, of the coast, 
blown into singular forms by the prevailing norte from 
the Gulf, give place, as we proceed inland, to the foothills 
of the Eastern Sierra. Here the Cretaceous formation is 
shown — the hard crystalline limestone — and this, from 
its durable nature, has furnished material for the new 
breakwater at Vera Cruz. Again, as we proceed, the 
lower rocks are sheeted with the lava of former erup- 
tions of volcanoes, worn away at times by the ravines, 
and showing the points of Cretaceous rocks protruding ; 
and volcanic dust from the same source drifts hither and 
thither, and at times has been compressed by the ele- 
ments into a soft tufa. The great sheets of lava, as in 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 143 

certain places in the Valley of Mexico, are of remarkable 
appearance on the face of the country, the scorified aspect 
seemingly little changed since the moment when the fiery 
sheet must have poured devastatingly down the country- 
side. 

The rock-formation of Mexican landscape gives rise to 
exceedingly picturesque and romantic scenery in places, 
and to diverse configurations of striking beauty, among 
which we shall often draw rein as we journey, or which 
will attract us continually to the observation-point of our 
Pullman car as the train winds along. Upon the Gulf 
of Mexico or the Pacific slopes the territory is grand 
and broken in the extreme, and presents curious and 
beautiful examples of rock-scenery. The natural mono- 
liths of the barrancas of the State of Hidalgo are strange 
examples of scenic geology; monumental caprice of Nature 
in megalithic structure, as shown by the remarkable basalt 
columns of the profound Gorge of Itzala. Vari-coloured 
lichens cover these basalt pillars, affording singular con- 
trast of light and shade. Through the gorge a torrential 
stream flows, and the floor of the valley is covered with 
fragments of obsidian, or volcanic glass, gleaming black 
and brilliant, which has been brought down by the waters 
from the Cerro de Navajas. This obsidian, or Itzli, was 
the material from which the Aztecs made their knives 
and weapons, and this was their prehistoric quarry. 
The red lava deserts of Sonora are weird and remarkable. 

Mexico is divided hydrographically into three systems : 
the Atlantic, or Gulf of Mexico watershed ; that of the 
Pacific ; and the hydrographic entities of the great plateau. 
In the first of these is the vast region of the northern 
part of Mexico, which, with Texas and New Mexico 
drains into the Rio Grande and thence into the Gulf ; 
the long littoral of the Gulf Coast, whose divortia 
aquarum, or water-parting, is formed by the Eastern 
Sierra Madre ; and the peninsula of Yucatan. In the 
second is the vast stretch of the Pacific slope, whose 
divortia aquarum is the Western Sierra Madre ; the 
peninsula of Lower California ; and the southern side of 



144 MEXICO 

the region south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. In 
the third are the intra-montane portions of the great 
plateau, whose waters have no outlet or natural source 
of exhaustion except that by evaporation, such as the 
great plains known as the Bolson of Mapimi ; and the 
Valley of Mexico. Topographically, however — apart 
from the three climatic zones of hot, temperate, and 
cold lands — the country is divided orographically into 
two portions by the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the former 
consisting of the characteristic mountain-chains and 
great plateau, and the latter of the immense plains of 
Yucatan, with a low elevation of not more than 300 
feet above sea-level. 

The formation of Mexico has not given rise to the 
existence of great or navigable rivers nor, indeed, of 
harbours. With few exceptions rivers are torrential in 
character, although some are of considerable length. 
The Rio Grande, which forms the northern boundary 
of the United States, and is therefore international in 
character, is 1,500 miles in length; rising in Colorado 
and passing through New Mexico in the United States, 
and thence entering between Texas and Chihuahua, it 
is joined by two large tributaries — the Pecos on the 
American and the Conchos river on the Mexican side. 
Thence it flows south-eastwardly to the Gulf of Mexico. 
The waters which enter Mexican territory are scarce, as 
they have been taken out for irrigation purposes in 
American territory. The Lerma, or Santiago, river is 
the next in point of length, and is a stream of consider- 
able importance, dividing the main portion of Mexico 
topographically into two subdivisions. It flows for 540 
miles from its source in the mountains near Toluca, 
passing through the beautiful Lake Chapala — the largest 
in Mexico — and forms the great cascade of Juanacatlan, 
the Niagara of Mexico ; traverses the State of Jalisco, 
where it is joined by numerous affluents, and discharges 
into the Pacific Ocean near San Bias. 

Southwardly from the above, beyond the intervening 
Cordillera, is the River Balsas, or Mescala, 430 miles in 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 145 

length. This important stream has its rise in the water- 
shed of the central plateau, or rather the extensive slopes 
of the Valley of Mexico, and running with a general 
westerly direction between the Sierras, empties into the 
Pacific at Zacatula. It is navigable for a short distance. 
The Yaqui, discharging into Pacific waters, is 390 
miles long, flowing through the Sierras of Sonora to the 
Gulf of California. On the littoral of the Mexican Gulf 
is the Panuco, which rises to the north of the Valley of 
Mexico, flowing thence in a great curve ; and being joined 
by various affluents from the eastern watershed of the 
Sierra Madres, it discharges at the port of Tampico. 
The Papaloapam, also draining part of the State of 
Vera Cruz, empties into the Gulf near the port of the 
same name. From the region of the peninsula of Yucatan 
flow two main streams — the Usamacinta and the Grijalva — 
which are partly navigable. All these rivers are further 
described in the chapter treating of the various States to 
which they correspond. Another characteristic stream 
of Mexico is the River Nazas, whose waters, nearly all 
absorbed by the irrigation canals of the Laguna region, 
where the famous cotton plantations are, fall in times of 
flood into the Lagoon of Parras, where they evaporate, 
the system forming a hydrographic entity, without outlet 
either to the Pacific or Atlantic watershed. Thus it is 
seen that most Mexican rivers simply rise in and 
descend on one or the other slopes of the country ; and as 
the fall is rapid their courses are interrupted by numerous 
cascades. Except in few cases, these rivers are of no 
service for navigation, but the elements of water-power 
and irrigation facilities which they possess are more than 
compensating circumstances. In addition, their scenic 
value is very marked in many cases. 

Lakes of Andine character, and others, exist throughout 
Mexico, the remnants of much larger lake systems, which 
occupied the filled-up "troughs" of the mountains, 
before described. Some of these sheets of water are 
exceedingly beautiful in their disposition and environ- 
ment. Foremost among them is Chapala, in the State of 

II 



146 MEXICO 

Jalisco, near the handsome city of Guadalajara ; and 
equally picturesque those smaller sheets of water in 
Michoacan — Lakes Cuitzeo and Patzcuaro. Theremarkable 
groups of lakes in the Valley of Mexico, around which the 
Aztec civilisation flourished, comprise six salt-water and 
one (that of Chalco) fresh-water lake. The two maps 
given in these pages, of the disposition of these lakes at the 
time of the Conquest ^ and at the present day, respectively, 
show how remarkably their waters have shrunk during 
the intervening centuries. Indeed, this may have fol- 
lowed a certain drying-up process which seems to have 
been going on throughout the whole Andine region of 
the Americas, and which is evidenced by retiring snow- 
caps in Peru, and the receding of Lake Titicaca. 

The climate and temperature of Mexico follow certain 
marked zones, depending upon elevation, as already 
indicated in the opening chapter. Both on the Atlantic 
and Pacific slopes these zones are encountered — the 
tierra caliente up to 3,000 feet elevation above sea-level ; 
the tierra teniplada to 5,000 or 6,000 ; and the iierra fria 
above that altitude. On the tropical lowlands the heat of 
the torrid zone is experienced, but is not necessarily 
oppressive, although the European or American traveller 
who prefers a less enervating climate hastens to exchange 
that region for the more bracing air of the uplands. The 
night breezes, however, compensate largely for the heat 
of the sun, and render bearable, and indeed agreeable, the 
Vera Cruz littoral and the Yucatan peninsula, by the 
lowered temperature they afford. The rains also, which 
have their season from June to November, do much to 
refresh the atmosphere. Indeed, the year is divided 
mainly by the matter of rainfall into a wet and dry 
period, the summer and winter of other countries being 
unknown ; or, rather, one might say, that the daytime is 
the summer and the night-time the winter, so marked are 
the diurnal changes of temperature. 

In the tierra caliente the mean temperature varies from 
770 to 80° F., but often rises to 100°, and in some of the 
' See page 76. 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 147 

hottest coast regions to 105° F. In the tierra lemplada the 
mean is from 62° to 70° F., and this is the cHmatic region 
which the Mexicans love to term "perpetual spring." In 
point of fact, it is a zone not unworthy of the designation, 
being equable, healthy, and with a beautiful and varied/or(2. 
It is to be recollected that the greater part of the area of 
the country lies in this temperate zone, although there is 
included in it a part of the great plateau, with its great 
range of heat and cold from day to night. It is, however, 
with reference to the Atlantic and Pacific slopes that 
these changes are ascribed, and this fine and enjoyable 
climate is encountered from Ameca in Jalisco to Chil- 
pancingo in Guerrero on the western side ; and from 
Jalapa northwards upon the Gulf — vast belts of territory 
of which any country might well be proud. Upwards 
from this zone is that of the tierra fria, with a mean 
temperature of 59° or 60° F., which varies little throughout 
the year, although the maximum and minimum from day 
to night is very marked. 

As regards the climate of Mexico generally, it might 
have been supposed that it would be oppressively hot, 
the country lying, as it does, towards the Equator. But 
this is far from being the case ; and the New Yorker may 
well leave the stifling heat of his own city in summer for 
the tonic breezes of the Mexican uplands, just as he may 
winter there to avoid the bitter winter of New York. 
And, as to the European, we may recollect that the 
southernmost point of Mexico is two degrees nearer the 
Equator than the northernmost point of Europe, whilst 
the mean annual temperature of the City of Mexico — 
61° 34 — bears excellent comparison with such places as 
Algiers, 63° ; Barcelona, 61° ; Naples, 61° ; Rome, 60° ; 
Bordeaux, 57° F. The diurnal change in the City of 
Mexico, however, is very marked, rising to 89° F. during 
the day and falling to 35° F. at night, when the foreigner 
gladly dons his overcoat and the native his capa, or serape. 
On the whole, it is natural to describe the climate of 
Mexico as pleasing and invigorating, whilst bearing in 
mind the variation above described, due to elevation, 



148 MEXICO 

latitude, rainfall, and wind agencies. The effects of these 
changes are so marked upon the vegetation of the country 
that all the vegetable products from the Equator to the 
Polar Circle can be found among them. 

The rainfall throughout the country is mainly confined 
to the rainy season, from May or June to October or 
November. During the middle of this season the rains 
are, at times, exceedingly heavy, the dry stream beds of 
the plateau filling up in a few hours with a torrential 
flood which sweeps everything before it. The desert 
plains in some places are traversed by deep barrancas, or 
gullies, worn down perpendicularly through the soil; and 
woebetide the unlucky horseman who may be journeying 
along the bottom of one of these when the wave of water 
comes down from some sudden cloud-burst in the 
mountains, which happens not infrequently. Incautious 
Indians and peones, also, who have taken up their lodging 
in some cave or dug-out of the banks of the torrential 
rivers of the plateau, or who have laid drunk upon the 
sun-baked river-bed, are often surprised by the waters, and 
their bodies are recovered miles away, stranded upon 
some sand-bar. This serves as giving an idea of the 
sudden and rapid flow of water from the mountains 
under the torrential rains ; and a good example of a river 
subject to such a regimen is that of the Nazas. I have 
crossed the dry bed of this river at Torreon on various 
occasions on horseback, but on the return journey an 
hour afterwards the horse was swimming, or, when the 
current was too fierce, it was necessary to make a long 
detour to the bridge, for the torrent was raging 300 feet 
wide from bank to bank. 

The average rainfall varies greatly for different parts of 
the country. For example, in the City of Mexico a year's 
mean fall may be 25 inches, whilst in Monterrey, some 
500 miles to the north, it would reach 130 inches. In the 
dry season, however, no rain falls in any of the three 
zones of hot, temperate, or cold lands. Snowfall is very 
rare as far south as the City of Mexico, but is not 
unknown. In the cities of the great plateau, to the north, 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 149 

it is almost equally rare, occurring perhaps once or twice 
in a lifetime. When such does take place it affords an 
unwonted spectacle for the peones, and causes them to 
wrap themselves in their scrapes and muffle up their 
mouths as if they were in the polar regions, rather than 
experiencing a momentary fall of temperature 1 A scene 
of this nature occurred during my stay in Lerdo, one of 
the towns of this region, and is well depicted in the 
accompanying view. The low rainfall of the extreme 
north of Mexico, of two to three inches, on the border of 
Arizona, and the excessive fall, reaching 156 inches, on the 
Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with the high rate for Monterrey 
and the moderate fall for the capital, show how remarkable 
are the hygrometric conditions due to topography. The 
maximum rainfall is only exceeded in very few regions of 
the globe. 

If the geology and topography of Mexico are marked 
and peculiar, the organic world also presents its own 
remarkable conditions ; for, as to its flora and fauna, 
Mexico is a land of transition, between North America 
on the one hand and Central and South America on the 
other, and contains the species of both regions, in the 
animal and vegetable kingdoms. 

As may well be imagined from such peculiar conditions, 
Mexico is a country whose y?or^ and fauna are diverse and 
extensive. Indeed, as regards the former, every vegetable 
product found from the Equator to the Polar Circle exist 
in the country. The soil, in the tropical regions, as a 
result of high temperature and excessive moisture, is deep 
and fertile, both from the rock-decay consequent upon 
such conditions, and the deposit of organic matter from 
the profuse vegetation. In the region of the high plateau 
the product of rock-disintegration added to that caused 
by volcanic matter, and the sediment of dried-up lagoons 
of very recent time, have produced a great depth of soil 
in places, as before described, covering vast expanses, and 
this soil is found to be of exceeding fertility under 
irrigation. The conditions regarding irrigation are very 
marked in the region of the Nazas. On the one hand we 



150 MEXICO 

encounter dry, bare, and uncultivated wastes ; on the 
other verdant fields of cotton. Why is this ? Both the 
lands are of a similar character of soil, but one is above 
the line of the irrigation canal, and the other below. 

No description of Mexico can be complete which does 
not sound the praises of her varied flora. The most 
striking characteristic of the flowers of this land, as has 
often been remarked, is the richness and brilliance of 
their colour. The floating gardens, and the canoe-loads 
of flowers and altar adornments of such which the 
Aztecs used and trafficked in, bore witness to aboriginal 
appreciation of these. To-day the flower-market of the 
capital is one of its attractions, whilst in the valley of 
Mexico not a day in the year lacks roses, lilies, camellias, 
strawberries, et hoc genus omne. 

A varied and indeed, at times, eccentric field of study 
is laid open for the botanist in Mexico, for not only is 
there a remarkable variety of species, but their distribution 
is often singular. Thus the pine-tree is often found at low 
elevations upon the tropic slopes, much below its proper 
habitat upon the mountain ranges ; whilst palms flourish 
in certain places as high as 8,000 feet above sea-level ; 
and the extraordinary cactus forms, which in Mexico 
are found in their greatest development, grow both on 
the high mountain slopes and the tropic lowland plains. 
Especially will the traveller in Mexico be struck by the 
imposing organo cactus. This extraordinary growth, in 
form like a series of organ pipes, from which it takes its 
name, or like a huge branching candelabra, arising from a 
single stem, is a marked feature of the landscape. A few 
strokes of a machete, severing the stem of one of these 
great succulent plants, will bring down the whole structure, 
weighing many tons. The cactus, especially upon the 
high, arid deserts of the plateau, is a striking example of 
a plant contending with the conditions of its environ- 
ment in the struggle for life. Cacti are veritable cisterns 
of water, stored up against long periods of absolute 
drought, so that they may be able to perform their 
function of flowering. The organo and other cacti consist 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 151 

of great masses of juicy green cells ; and to protect the 
scarce commodity of water which they have collected for 
their own use from predatory desert beasts and birds, 
Nature has armed them at every point with an appalling 
armour of thorns, or spikes, sharp as steel, and due to 
these matters of offence and defence the cactus is enabled 
to flourish in sterile places where absolutely no other 
vegetation could exist. Nowhere are these conditions so 
marked as upon the upper reaches of the high plateau of 
Mexico, and the variety of the cacti is most interesting. 
Among the cactus species are some which are of value — 
great value — to the human inhabitants. Chief of these is 
the maguey {Agave americana), which is indeed one of the 
staple resources of the country, with a varied use, as de- 
scribed in the pages dealing with agriculture. The nopat, 
or prickly-pear, is a useful plant, yielding a succulent fruit 
— the hmas — and is also the habitat of the cochineal. 

The tropical region — the tierra caliente — is generally 
covered, as before described, with a profuse floral and 
arboreal vegetation, whilst the other climatic bells display 
their own peculiar plant and tree life. Throughout the 
country generally, a large number of species of timber and 
plants exist in an uncultivated state, of commercial value, 
and these are enumerated in the chapter corresponding to 
the natural products. Among the 115 or more species 
of timber and wood for constructional purposes are oak, 
pine, mahogany, cedar, and others, whilst the list of 
fibrous and medicinal plants, gum-bearing trees, as india- 
rubber, chicle, &c., tinctorial and resinous trees, edible 
plants and fruits, is of much interest and value. In the 
tropical lowlands the country is so thickly wooded as in 
places to be impassable, except by clearing trails and felling 
trees. There are virgin forests of great extent in these 
sparsely populated regions, both of the Pacific and 
Atlantic slopes. Upon the great plateau, however, and 
the mountain slopes immediately adjoining it conditions 
are very different. Great tracts of country are, as else- 
where described, absolutely bare of vegetation, both 
naturally and by reason of the inroads made upon the 



162 MEXICO 

forests by civilised man. The great desert tracts never 
had tree or plant life in profusion, but the hilly regions 
bounding these, and the inward slopes of the Sierra Madres 
were formerly covered with thick forests, and in some 
regions are still so covered. But they have been denuded 
in certain regions of their timber, principally for fuel, 
as native coal has been unknown until recently, and is 
difficult of transport. This denudation has had an un- 
doubted effect upon the rainfall, and has served to change 
the cHmatic conditions in these regions. In other upland 
regions, however, the splendid and extensive forests of 
oak and pine form marked features of the landscape, and 
are of much industrial value. 

The diversity of climatic and botanical conditions of 
Mexico gives as a natural corollary a variety of animal 
life, and the fauna is an extensive one, including, with 
small exception, all the species of North America on the 
one hand, and of South America on the other. Those of 
the former, naturally, are found upon the great plateau ; 
those of the latter in the . tropical lowlands. Among 
the main exceptions are the llama and alpaca, the 
domestic wool-bearing animals of the camel family, and 
kindred varieties, which do not exist in Mexico, nor are 
found anywhere in the world outside the highlands of 
Peru and Bolivia. Indeed, native Mexico, before the 
introduction of the equine race from Europe, had no 
beast of burden whatever, such as the llama afforded to 
the South American aboriginal peoples. 

The fauna of the country embraces fifty-two varieties of 
mammal quadrupeds, including three species of large 
felidae — the jaguar, the puma, or cougar, and the ocelot, a 
carnivorous cat-hke animal, whose name is derived from 
the native Mexican word ocelotl. There are five varieties 
of monkeys in the tropical forests, as well as a sloth. 
There are forty-three classes of reptiles, including alligators 
and turtles, and several kinds of venomous serpents, and 
the great boa-constrictor. Upon the plateau and mountain 
ranges wolves and wild-cats abound, and the coyote is the 
wild inhabitant of the desert plains most in evidence. 




VEGETATION IX THE TROPICAL FORESTS. 



[To face p. 153. 



PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 153 

There are several kinds of bears, and the wolf, skunk, 
bison, and tapir are found. 

Mexico cannot be said to offer a field for hunters of 
big game, and the term "a sportsman's paradise," which 
is sometimes applied to it, is something of an exaggeration. 
Nevertheless, there is considerable sport to be had, and 
certain kinds of game abound. Among animals may be 
enumerated the peccaries, or javilines, deer, rabbits, hares ; 
of reptiles, alligators, turtles, and iguanas ; whilst whales, 
seals, and sea-lions are encountered upon the Pacific 
coast. Alligators are numerous in the estuaries of the 
rivers of both the Gulf and the Pacific sides, as well as 
turtles and tortoises. Of birds for the sportsman may be 
mentioned the wild turkey — which, indeed, was intro- 
duced to Europe from Mexico — partridges, quail, and 
wild pigeons. The armadillo, beaver, martin, otter, and 
others are among the M.exic3.n fauna. Of noxious reptiles 
and insects the rattlesnake is much in evidence, as well as 
the tarantula, centipede, alacran, or scorpion, and varie- 
ties of ants. Of birds of beautiful plumage the Mexican 
tropics abound with life, and they are famed for their 
fine feathers, and as songsters. They are an example 
of Nature's compensating circumstances ; for in the hot 
lowlands they are more distinguished for their bright 
plumage than their voice ; whilst in the uplands they are 
of much more modest dress, but higher singing capacities. 
More than 350 species of birds have been enumerated 
throughout the country, and among these are fifty varieties 
of humming-birds, which range throughout the whole 
colour-scale, from blue and green to scarlet. The zen- 
zontle, or mocking-bird, is a well-known bird in Mexico. 

Such are, in brief, the natural conditions of geological 
structure, climatic conditions, and the organic world con- 
sequent thereon, of this varied and interesting land ; and 
having thus observed them we must turn our attention to 
the human family whose habitat they form — the men and 
women of Mexi(;;o of to-day. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 

Ethnic conditions — Spanish, Mestizos, Indians — Colour-line — Foreign 
element — The peones — Land tenure — The Spanish people — The 
native tribes — The Apaches — The Mexican constitution — Class 
distinctions — Mexican upper class — Courtesy and hospitality — 
Quixotism of the Mexicans — Idealism and eloquence — General 
characteristics — Ideas of progress — American anomalies — Hacien- 
das — Sport — Military distinctions — Comparison with Anglo-Saxons — 
Republicanism — Language — Life in the cities — Warlike instincts — 
The women of Mexico — Mexican youths — Religious observance — 
Romantic Mexican damsels — The bull-fights. 

The Mexican people are divided for sociological or 
ethnological purposes into three divisions — the people 
of purely white European or Spanish descent, those of 
combined European and native races, and the pure- 
blooded Indians. The first have been technically termed 
Criollas, or Creoles, although the designation has, of 
recent years, been used in a different sense ; the second 
Mestizos, or mixed race ; whilst the third, the Indios, are 
the direct descendants of the peoples who occupied the 
country in pre-Hispanic times. 

The total population is estimated at fifteen million 
souls, or possibly slightly under. Of this, according to 
the census of 1900, the people of purely white descent 
numbered about 19 per cent. ; the Mestizos, who may 
be looked upon as the typical Mexicans of to-day, 43 
per cent.; whilst the remaining 38 per cent, were assigned 
as the proportion for the Indians. The figures and 
divisions cannot be looked upon, however, as arbitrary 
or exact. At the present time it is considered that the 

154 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 155 

Mestizo class probably embraces more than half of 
the total, whilst the real proportion of people of absolutely- 
pure white race is probably much less than described, 
possibly not more than lo per cent., as the mixture 
permeates all classes. 

The white and mixed races, especially the former, 
constitute the property-owning and administrative classes, 
and naturally the Mexican upper class is drawn from 
these. The six million Indians, more or less, con- 
stitute some fifty aboriginal tribes in various stages of 
semi-civilisation or savagery, distributed all over the 
country from Sonora to Yucatan, and these are described 
elsewhere. It is not to be supposed that they are savages 
as a whole; for, on the contrary, they are remarkably 
gifted in some cases, assimilating the civilisation and 
intellect of the white man and furnishing excellent 
material for the country's citizens. The upper-class 
Mexicans, like the Peruvians or other Spanish-Americans 
when they are of unmixed white descent, naturally pride 
themselves upon the fact, and to a certain extent aim to 
preserve this condition. This is the "colour-line" of the 
race, and the term "Indio" is still a term expressing 
something of contempt, notwithstanding the fact that 
some of the prominent, and even intellectual, men 
of Mexico's history have been drawn from the Mestizo 
class, and — in the case of Juarez — from pure aboriginal 
stock. Of course, the Indian is, as yet, an inferior being. 

Included in Mexico's population is a foreign element 
numbering some 60,000 people, more or less, Spaniards 
predominating, with more than 16,000, and Americans of 
the United States with som.ewhat over 15,000. This is 
according to the census of 1900, and it is probable that 
both these elements have increased considerably since 
then. Of British there are only some 3,000 in the 
country ; of French about 4,000 ; and of Germans 2,600, 
approximately. The vast area of Mexican territory con- 
tains only about twenty persons to the square mile ; were 
it populated in the same ratio as parts of Europe it might 
support a population of 180,000,000, it has been calculated. 



156 MEXICO 

As has been shown, but a small percentage of the 
Mexican people are of purely white descent. As for 
the characteristic type of Mexican — those of mixed white 
and aboriginal race — they form the principal human 
element of the country, and shade off indefinably into 
the peon class. This class, drawn both from Mestizos and 
Indians, forms the great working population, in the fields ■ 

and the mines, and without them the national industries I 

would be non-existent. They are a picturesque, poor and ' 

generally ignorant class, although possessed of excellent 
natural elements and traits which must develop as time 
goes on. They form a strong, virile backbone to the 
country, but the conditions of their life are at present but 
little removed from serfdom, due to their general poverty 
as a class and to the monopolisation of the ownership 
of land by the upper classes. In this connection it is to 
be recollected that the natives of the civilised pre- 
Hispanic States of the Americas — as Mexico and Peru — 
enjoyed an excellent system of individual land-tenure, or 
rather, of free land-use, which gave being to a strong, 
independent peasantry ; and this, in Peru, still obtains to 
a certain degree, due principally to the inaccessibility 
of the Andine regions. But in Mexico such a class no 
longer exists, and the peon lives by sufferance upon the 
soil which was wrested from his forbears by the white 
man, who adopted there the singular land customs of 
Europe, which arrogate to the enjoyment of a few the 
soil which philosophy points to as belonging to the com- 
munity.' Enormous landed estates are held in Mexico — 
indeed, in the State of Chihuahua the largest single 
estate in the world exists — and a semi-feudal regime of 
the land and its inhabitants marks the character of this 
modern American civilisation. The population on the 
soil scarcely reaches twenty persons to the square mile — 
principally rural or inhabiting small towns — and there 
is ample room, therefore, for expansion. It must, how- 
ever, be stated that excellent new land laws have been 

* In certain regions there are, of course, numerous Indian squatters and 
landholders. 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 167 

promulgated of recent years in the Republic. National 
lands have been set aside in vast areas, and any in- 
habitant of the Republic may " denounce " or acquire a 
piece of such land, and retain it by annual tax-payment 
at prices varying from two pesos — a peso is about two 
shillings — in the remote regions, to twenty or thirty 
pesos per hectare — equal to 2^ acres — in the more 
settled States. The Mexican peasantry is not debarred 
absolutely from the enjoyment of the land if he has the 
knowledge and means to perform the simple require- 
ments necessary to its acquisition — which generally he 
has not. I have dealt in detail with the matters of land 
acquisition elsewhere in this work, and with the con- 
ditions of life of and the character of the peon class 
familiarly. 

To cast, now, a glance at ethnic conditions, it is 
sufficient to say that a wide range of peoples have 
mingled their blood in the race which now forms the 
people of Mexico. No other American nation constitutes 
so varied a blending of races. The invading Conquista- 
dores and their followers from Spain — which itself has 
formed from the beginning of history a veritable crucible 
or mixing-ground of the world's peoples, languages and 
creeds — brought Iberian, Roman, Celtic, Semite, Vandal, 
Goth, and Moorish blood to Mexico, and mingled it with 
the aboriginal Aztecs and others. As to the origin of 
the Mexican aboriginals, this is unknown or only con- 
jectured, but they embrace an enormous range of tribes, 
some 230 names of which appear in the list compiled by 
Mexican ethnologists. These, however, are grouped 
into some twelve or more linguistic families, among 
whom may be mentioned in order of their numerical 
importance the Nahuatlan, Otomian, Zapotecan, Mayan, 
Tarascan, Totonacan, Piman, Zoquean, and others, 
including the Serian and the Athapascan, or Apache. 
These families embody people of very varying degrees 
of native culture ; from the low type of the abject 
Seri Indians, inhabiting part of Sonora ; the treacherous 
and bloodthirsty Apaches, who formerly roved over 



158 MEXICO 

the vast deserts of the north, up to the cultured 
peoples who formed the prehistoric civiHsation of 
the country ; the Nahuatl- and Maya-speaking races, 
who, in the peninsula of Yucatan and the Valley of 
Mexico, were the foremost peoples in point of culture 
of the whole of the New World, and who have left the 
remarkable chapters in stone of their history which are 
scattered about Mexico, and which have been described 
in a former chapter. 

To-day the vast area and different peoples of Mexico 
are combined politically into one community — a Federa- 
tion of States or Federal Republic ; and the blending 
of the peoples, carnally, goes on day by day, as there are 
not inseparable distinctions of colour or creed to keep 
them asunder. Politically Mexico may be considered as 
the foremost of the Spanish-American Republics, her 
population being the greatest, and her civilisation more 
broadly developed than any of her sister-nations. The 
form of government, as stated, is that known as a 
Federal Republic — a definition of which is that the 
numerous States composing the whole are free and 
sovereign as regards their internal regime, but united under 
their representative, democratic Constitution as a political 
entity. 

The Constitution is fashioned upon the model of the 
United States to a certain extent, and as a Federation 
differs from most of the other Spanish-American 
republics. The supreme authority of the Republic is 
held and exercised by three bodies — the Legislative, the 
Executive, and the Judiciary. The Legislative embodies 
the Congress, or Parliament, consisting of the Chamber 
of Deputies and the Senate, the members of which 
are elected, the first in the proportion of one for every 
60,000 inhabitants, every two years : and the second of two 
Senators for each State every four years. The Judiciary 
consists of the Supreme and other courts, the judges of 
the first being elected, and the business of the body 
relates to law and justice concerning Federal, political, 
and international matters. The Executive in Mexico 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 159 

consists of a single depositary of authority — the President, 
who, with the vice-president, is elected, and who enter 
upon office on the ist of December, for terms of six 
years. The Constitution which all these officials swear 
to uphold is that first brought to being on February 5, 
1857, with various modifications. By the Reform Laws 
of 1859, and their additions of 1873, the Church and 
State are absolutely independent of each other, and the 
power and functions of the ecclesiastical authority are 
rigidly defined. The Federation consists of thirty-one 
States and "territories," which latter are subject to 
Federal control and regulation of their internal regime, 
unlike the former. The States are governed by 
Governors. 

Mexico has, therefore, well established all the 
machinery of a republic, wherein equal rights of man 
and the sovereignty of the people are well set forth. 
How do these excellent methods and theories work out 
in practice as regards the social system and inhabitants ? 
A republic in name, Mexico shares with Spanish- 
American countries generally, social conditions which 
are far from being embodied in the real meaning of that 
designation. It is not necessary to dwell much upon 
this palpable fact, and its reason is not far to seek. 
The communities of the New World which Spain 
conquered were inhabited by inferior peoples who were 
easily enslaved, or who were already subject to autocratic 
forms of government. Every Spaniard who arrived there 
— were he a noble of Castile or a common boor from his 
native Iberian province — was full of the arrogance and 
superiority, sometimes fancied, generally real, of the 
civilised European, and this spirit burst into full bloom 
amid the environment of such countries as Mexico and 
Peru. Thus an autocratic race was established whose 
class distinctions are as strong and enduring as those of 
the most class-ridden countries of Europe. It would 
be impossible to expect other conditions yet, with a 
great mass of the people being of Indian race, and 
coming on almost imperceptibly towards civic know- 



160 MEXICO 

ledge and intellectual advancement. Scarcely 13 per 
cent, of the total population can read and write, 
whilst as to the labouring classes they are only just 
beginning to show any advancement along lines of 
modern civilisation. Nevertheless the Government of 
the country has their welfare at heart, and in the last 
quarter of a century has regarded the working classes 
and Indians as citizens with rights rather than mere 
material for revolutionary struggle, as was formerly 
the case. The Mexico people having always been 
sharply divided into two classes, an upper and a lower ; 
a middle-class, such as in Europe or the United States 
forms the great bulk of intelligent citizens, tends but 
slowly to appear, and it is this which must be encouraged 
to arise and to absorb the aboriginal element. 

The upper class Mexican is often a well-educatea 
and well-informed man of the world, and in appearance 
and habit differs little from the European. His wealth 
has permitted him to be educated in the best establish- 
ments his country affords, or often abroad, in France, 
England, and in a less degree the United States, and 
to spend years in Europe and live a life of ease, prefer- 
ably in Paris — that true Mecca of the Spanish-American 
people. The Mexican gentleman is generally courteous 
and punctilious, and gives much attention to dress and 
matters of ceremony, after the general manner of the 
Spanish-American, and the frock-coat and silk hat form 
his indispensable exterior whenever possible. His 
courtesy pervades his business relations generally, as 
well as social affairs. And, indeed, this pleasing quality 
permeates the whole social regime from the highest 
official or wealthy citizen down to the poorest peon or 
to the Indian labourer. The matter of courtesy, in 
addition to being native both with the Spanish 
progenitor and the native race, is, it might be said, 
part of the political Constitution. The republics of 
Spanish-America at least regard all men as equal in this 
sense, a condition which is far from existing in the 
Anglo-Saxon Republic of the United States, where 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 161 

brusque assertion of even the meanest authority is 
evident, in the present development of that country. 
Nor is it to be supposed that Mexican poHteness is a 
mere veneer, or mask, to be put on and off as 
occasion dictates, for it arises from native kindhness — 
a species of Quixotism of a laudable nature. 

The Mexican largely shares the spirit of hospitality 
of the Spanish-American race, and this, besides being a 
native characteristic, was strongly implanted in colonial 
days by the very exigencies and circumstances of the 
times. In some parts of the country, until recent years, 
hotels or inns were unknown ; and it was sufficient for 
the traveller to knock at almost any door to ask and 
receive food and shelter for himself and his retainers and 
beasts, even though the people of the place might 
be ignorant of his name or business : and the best that 
was forthcoming was put at his service. Something 
of practical patriarchal simplicity governed life in 
regions more remote from main routes of travel, which 
held, and indeed still hold, much of charm for the 
traveller from lands whose hospitality — as Britain or the 
United States — is the result often of ostentation or social 
necessity rather than that of native kindliness. This 
amiable trait of more or less pastoral communities, as 
Mexico and South America, tends naturally to dis- 
appear before the influence of the commercial element 
which is invading the country, and it is not to be 
expected that it will survive always. 

The Spanish-American possesses an ineradicable 
element of Quijotismo — he will tell us so himself — and 
this element seems to have become stronger in the 
New World than in Spain, which gave it origin. 
The Mexican has it to the full, like the Peruvian ; 
doubtless it arises largely from the conditions of caste 
brought about by the existence of the Mestizo and 
the Indian. Trembling on the verge of two races, his 
eyes looking towards the land of his progenitors, the 
enshrined Spain of his dreams, with something of 
race-nostalgia — if we may be permitted to coin the 

12 



162 MEXICO 

term — yearning for the distinction of the white skin 
and traditions of European civilisation, yet bound to 
the Hfe of and race of his own ■patria by reason of 
the native blood within his veins, the Hispanic 
Mexican has cultivated a sensitive social spirit which 
tinges his character and action in every-day life. 
From this largely arise his courtesy and spirit of 
hospitality — although these are undeniably innate — and 
principally his love of pomp and externals, the keeping 
up of appearances, and his profound eloquence. The 
Mexican is intensely eloquent. His speakings and 
writings are profuse in their use of the fulness of the 
Spanish language, and teem with rich words and 
phrases to express abstract ideas. Indeed, judged by 
Anglo-Saxon habit, they would be termed grandiloquent 
and verbose. He indulges in similes and expressions 
as rich and varied as the vegetation of his own 
tropical lands. The most profound analogies are 
called up to prove the simplest fact, not only in the 
realm of poetry, or description, but in scientific or 
business matters at times, and whether he is writing 
upon some deep social problem or reporting upon 
the condition of the parish pump he will preface his 
account with an essay ! This, whilst it betrays often 
an attractive idealism, is prone at times to lead to the 
sacrificing of exact information to elegance of style 
or diction. The Mexican is never at a loss for words ; 
his eloquence is native, and whether it be the impas- 
sioned oratory of a political speaker or the society 
small-talk of a young man in the presence of ladies, 
he is never shy, and his flow of language and gesture 
is as natural to him as reserve and brevity to the 
Englishman. Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon, especially the 
Briton, seems repellant in comparison with the Spanish- 
American, and to cultivate selfishness rather than 
ceremony in his own social dealings. 

This tendency towards idealism becomes exaggeration 
often, though not intended for such, and the prefixing 
of superlatives is very noticeable in ordinary language. 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 163 

Thus glory is generally " immortal glory " ; knowledge 
"profound knowledge"; every person partaking in public 
affairs, if a friend of the speaker, is ever "enlightened 
and patriotic," and his intelligence becomes " vast intelli- 
gence." " Our distinguished and universally beloved 
Governor" would be the customary reference to such a 
functionary ; and " an era of glorious progress " would 
be the only way of characterising his administration. 
Indeed, a glance over a Mexican book or article or 
speech seems to show that the writer has made use 
of every elegant and abstruse word in the dictionary. In 
a dissertation upon any subject he seems called upon 
to begin from the very beginning of things, desde la 
creacion del mundo — " from the beginning of the world," 
as the Spanish-American himself sarcastically says at 
times. Perhaps this is a habit acquired from the early 
Spanish chroniclers, who often began their literary works 
with an account of the Creation ! The love of linking 
together the material and the poetic is, of course, at the 
basis of this striving after effect, and no philosophical 
observer would pretend to hold it up to ridicule. Anglo- 
Saxon civilisation grows material and commercial ; the 
Spanish-American preserves and cultivates some poetic 
and cultured imagery ; and perhaps Nature intends the 
one to affect the other in the future amalgamation of the 
world's races. 

Less lovable a characteristic of the Spanish-American 
is the tendency to fulsome adulation of public or power- 
ful personages in the hope of winning patronage. The 
tendency to pander to each other's vanity, however, shows 
up in marked contrast to the harshness and abuse of 
authority often employed in political matters. The 
Spanish character, amiable and courteous in friendship or 
equality, tends to become arbitrary when vested with 
some brief authority, and this has been at the bottom 
of much of the political disturbance and bloodshed of 
the past. It is characteristic of this race to show a 
certain " Oriental " trait — that which gives rise to an 
acquiescence in successful guile, rather than an admira- 



164 MEXICO 

tion and self-sacrifice for abstract truth. This is, of 
course, a characteristic both of individuals and nations 
before they reach a certain standard of civilisation. The 
readiness to follow the successful cause among the upper 
class, and the easy regard of the unpunished criminal, 
are the outcome of these qualities. In business matters 
the Spanish-American, the Mexican Peruvian, Chilean', 
Brazilian, or other has a much less sense of rigid 
observance of agreements, and a far greater latitude 
of expediency and mental juggling than the Anglo- 
Saxon. And this insinuation embodies one of the main 
defects of the race. Ideas of " mine " and " thine " are 
much less strong than with the Briton or American. It 
has been said of the Spaniard that he makes excellent 
laws, but ever considers that he personally has a right to 
break them. This sentiment becomes very evident in 
America : yet not only with the Spanish-American, for 
it is a marked characteristic of the United States, and 
of all American republics, where licence is often in- 
dulged in under the name of liberty. 

The Mexican character must be summed up as that 
of a people in the making. The fact is stamped upon 
their physiognomies even. Let us turn over the pages 
of any book issued in Mexico and observe the portraits 
of public men and of their biographies, for it will 
generally be full of these, often pandering to their vanity. 
The features are strongly pronounced, and at times verge 
upon the grotesque — we mean it in no offensive spirit. 
A high intelligence runs riot, and an idealism untem- 
pered by sobriety and practice, with strong passions, and 
love of show. But they mark a people, not decadent, 
but evolving. The Mexicans are at the beginning, not 
the end, of their civilisation ; the rise, not the fall, of their 
life. Here is the material of a vigorous and prolific race 
which may be destined to bulk largely — like the whole 
of Spanish-America — in the future regime of the civili- 
sation of the white man. 

The " era of glorious progress " — to use the Mexican 
terra — which the long dictatorship of the present famous 





^ 1 


4 




0'Jm 


V 


V 




^ 





A FAMOUS MIXISTER i)V FIXAXCE: ^ FAMOUS GKXKKAL AXl) MINISTER 

SEXOR LIMAXTOUR. OF PUBLIC WORKS. 




AN ARCHBISHOP A STATE GOVERXOR. 

Types of Mexicans of the Upper Class. 



[To face p. 1(14. 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 165 

President of Mexico inaugurated is a theme which 
occupies the Mexican mind and pen very largely. The 
European writer ungrudgingly records it, and the much- 
used adjective has much of truth for its constant use. 
General Porfirio Diaz has been wise and fortunate, and 
has been able to surround his administration with the 
talented men of his time — una pleiade incontahle de 
hombres conspicuos, to quote from a Mexican descrip- 
tion of his colleagues — " an innumerable pleiades of 
conspicuous men !" in their own grandiloquent phrases. 
As for the President, it might be supposed that the 
tendency to deify him by his contemporaries, and the 
constant pouring out of adulation and flattery upon 
him for the last twenty years, has made him proof against 
the workings of vanity. He well deserves this praise, 
both from his countrymen and from foreigners ; but so 
long and varied a course of it must prove unpalatable, 
notwithstanding that the Spanish-American, as a rule, 
is capable of absorbing an infinite amount of praise. 
Porfirio Diaz has brought his country up from chaos, 
and for this fortunate work he has to thank his own 
staunch character and the fact that a time had arrived 
in the natural evolution of America when even the most 
turbulent States are called upon to perform their function 
and carry out their destiny. The man and the hour 
arrived together, and Diaz deserves to rank among the 
historic statesmen of the world. 

The Mexicans, in their oratory and writings, are 
still congratulating themselves upon their overthrow 
of the power of the Church, and of the other 
ancient tyrannies which were a bar to their progress 
as a modern nation. But the tendency — though grow- 
ing less as time goes on — is to overrate this. They 
pride themselves on being " modern," and congratulate 
themselves on every occasion upon having destroyed 
past traditions. But it is easy, in wiping away the evils 
of the past with too vigorous a hand, to destroy at the 
same time much that is of good report. Mexico 
possesses traditions, religious influences; historical and 



166 MEXICO 

literary associations which are of great value, and 
possessed by no other American community upon that 
continent. These can never be replaced by the plumed 
hat of the General and all that it conveys, nor by the 
freethinker, nor by the factory whistle and overalled 
mechanic, nor, indeed, by the elements of a strenuous 
commercialism generally. As time goes on and civil life 
broadens and develops this attitude will be moderated — 
it is but a phase of the country's history, and indeed 
a healthy one, to cry for progress and the modern 
spirit. 

Much of this cry for modern things, as well as some 
other of the characteristics of the Spanish-American, 
comes from the desire to be considered highly civilised. 
This feeling, whether in Mexico or South America, 
gives birth at times to a certain feverish spirit of con- 
struction, and is responsible for the existence of railways, 
but no roads ; electric light in streets without sewers, 
and pretentious-looking stucco buildings where solid 
stone should have been employed. Buenos Ayres, Lima, 
Santiago, Mexico — all bear witness to this tendency, in 
more or less degree. And under the garish electric arc 
at night, or silhouetted against the new white stucco 
wall of some costly hygienic institution, or art gallery, 
or Governor's palace, glaring in the bright sun, stands 
the incongruous figure of the half-naked and sandalled 
Indian, ignorant and poverty-stricken ! These, indeed, 
are elements of Spanish-American civilisation which the 
philosopher sees and ponders upon. In fact, the cha- 
racter of the Latin races seems sometimes to tend to run 
off into ultra-scientific methods and institutions before 
the every-day welfare of its citizens is secured. Elaborate 
meteorological observations, great schools of medicine 
with costly apparatus, and great penitentiaries are to be 
found as prominent features in all Spanish-American 
capitals, where they have been inaugurated with much 
fanfare of oratory regarding civilisation. In Mexico, 
Lima, Buenos Ayres, and other great centres of Spanish- 
American life, the Penetenciaria is always a show- 





MEXICAN LIFE: THE CATHEDRAL AXD TUL rENITKXTlARY, CUV OF I'lKllLA. 

[To face i>. i66. 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 167 

place, or notable institution to which visitors' attention 
is drawn. This, however, seems to be rather a develop- 
ment of modern American civilisation all through, and 
whether in New York — and indeed Canada — or whether 
in Mexico, Peru, Chile, or Argentina, greater care seems 
to be expended upon the welfare of the criminal than 
on the ordinary poor citizen ! 

As previously observed, Mexican society falls into lines 
of marked class distinction. The rich and the educated 
stand in sharp juxtaposition to the great bulk of poor 
and uneducated, and the high silk hat and frock-coat 
form a striking contrast to the half-naked and sandalled 
peon in the plazas and streets of the cities. Similarly 
does the caballero, the horseman on caparisoned steed, 
spurn the dust on country roads through which the 
humble cotton-clad Indian labourer slinks to his toil. 
The horse, in Mexico, is always an outward sign of 
social superiority, and no self-respecting Mexican 
would ever be seen on foot beyond the paved streets 
of his cities. The noble animal is an integral part of 
Mexican life, social or industrial, and the Mexicans are 
in some respects the most expert horsemen in the world, 
as elsewhere shown. 

The upper-class Mexican is generally a large land- 
owner. The great estates which form his hacienda lie 
in one or the other part of the country, whether upon 
the great tableland or in the tropical regions which 
surround it. He spends a certain period of the year 
upon his hacienda, returning to the capital or journeying 
to Europe as desire or necessity may dictate. Great 
plantations of cotton, or immense areas of sugar-cane, 
or maguey, or other products yield him the considerable 
income which he enjoys ; and, as a rule, the fertile lands 
of the Republic are in the hands of this class, to the 
exclusion of the great bulk of the inhabitants. But the 
haciendas are important centres of industry, supporting 
the rural population in their vicinity. 

The Mexican shares the characteristics of the Latin 
race in his love for politics, military and other titles 



168 MEXICO 

and distinctions, and his predilection for holding some 
Government office. The law, the army, medicine are 
professions which appeal to him as affording distinction 
or degree, as well as giving outlet to the love of scientific 
pursuits, generally, however, theoretical rather than prac- 
tical. On all sides one hears men addressed as " Doctor," 
whether it be of science, laws, medicine, or divinity. 
This condition is observed by the traveller in all 
Spanish-American republics, and it seems to the 
foreign observer that the practical and plodding class 
of workers and trade-makers is insufficiently repre- 
sented, bearing in mind the large amount of scientific 
and theoretical leadership. This is in accordance with 
the dictates of caste, inherited from Spain. The upper 
class have always had Indians to wait upon them, and a 
Quixotic tendency to the despising of manual labour has 
naturally resulted, as among the leisured class of any other 
country. Any occupation that cannot be performed in 
the habiliments of the frock-coat and silk hat seems 
derogatory to the Spanish-American, and, filtering down 
through all the strata of society above the peones this 
sentiment has the effect of keeping the young men in the 
cities and robbing the country of a race of intelligent 
peasants of white descent. The Spanish-American youth 
of the poorer class prefers to pass the days behind a 
counter selling cashmeres and silks to bargaining 
sefioritas rather than to take up work on the land, 
which urgently requires more distributed and intelli- 
gent cultivation. 

The young Mexican of the upper class cares little 
for sport as understood by the Anglo-Saxon, and the 
strenuous games of the young Briton or American, or 
the hard work of British sport, are alien to his ease- 
loving nature. It is true that tennis and football and 
even polo are played to a limited extent by enthusiastic 
young men in the capital, who have followed the 
example of British or American residents, but it is not 
to be expected that these alien games could be grafted 
upon a different stock. Horsemanship is, of course, a 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 169 

natural pastime ; but this has nothing in common with 
the pastime of the English hunting-fields, notwithstand- 
ing that a certain class of Mexicans are exceedingly 
famous as horsemen and have no superiors in the 
world in this art, in some respects. 

As regards political distinction and career, the system 
obtaining in Spanish-American countries — like that of the 
United States — causes a change every few years of almost 
the whole official body, from President and Cabinet 
Ministers downwards. This has advantages and dis- 
advantages. It certainly creates a large and generally 
capable governing class or clique. It is rare in the 
society of the capitals of these countries to find pro- 
minent men who, at one time or other, have not been 
Cabinet Ministers or held other important State office. 
This gives — to the foreigner at least — a somewhat farcical 
impression of the life of the community, but, at any rate, 
it may be conceded that the Republican method gives 
nearly all good citizens " a show," to use an Americanism, 
in the State or municipal life. 

Whilst, up to recent years, almost all the administra- 
tive positions were filled by men with military titles, 
there is now a tendency to use the talent of men of 
civil professions in those departments of State corre- 
sponding thereto. Thus it is refreshing to observe that 
the Department of Fomento — Development or Promo- 
tion — one of the most important, has at its head and 
secondary positions men who are Engineers, not Generals. 
This Department is concerned with the railways, roads, 
mines, irrigation, and all matters of a similar nature, and 
its administration naturally calls for technical knowledge 
which the ubiquitous General does not often possess. 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been a lawyer 
(licenciado) as well as his seconds ; others of the 
Cabinet Ministers are of the same professions, and the 
principal representatives of the country abroad, their 
ambassadors, are men whose simple titles of "Sefior 
Don," and "Honourable" show their civil origin. 
So the picturesque and vigorous military element, in- 



170 MEXICO 

valuable in its place, is kept within its natural bounds, 
and as the pages of the book of Mexico are turned over 
the portraits of distinguished men with plumed hats and 
sword and uniform tend to become less and the civilian 
dress and the thoughtful brow of the educated civil 
statesman take their place. Among the ancient Mexi- 
cans, in pre- Hispanic days, commerce was a most 
honourable calling, as indeed were the handicrafts. 
But until recent years the titles of soldier and priest 
in Christian Mexico — as, indeed, it was in mediaeval 
Europe — seemed to be those which alone called for 
respect. 

The Mexicans are very careful to preserve the forms 
of their Republican system of government in the con- 
duct of affairs of State, whether in principle or nomen- 
clature. A decree is prefaced with " The Citizen 
President so decrees," is addressed to a " Citizen 
Secretary, Citizen Governor," or other, and terminates 
with the words " Independence and Liberty." Statues 
and streets, and institutions on every hand convey the 
recollections of liberty and reform. The Calle de la 
Independencia, that of the Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May), 
the Paseo de la Reforma, and other kindred names are 
much in evidence, and the Anglo-Saxon observer is 
startled from his own prosaic world to one where the 
matters of civic machinery and romantic pretension 
people its everyday life. It is safe to say that the 
average Mexican knows more about the chief men of 
his patria, and its history and institutions, than does 
the average Briton or American of his country. The 
educated Mexican speaks correct and expressive 
Spanish, which language — the Castellano — is, of course, 
the language of the country. In addition, he invariably 
speaks French, for in his generation this has ever been 
considered the mark of a polite education. English he 
may speak in addition, but not so universally. When 
we ask the Mexican gentleman of the old school if he 
speaks English there will the slightest shrug of the 
shoulders or lifting of the eyebrows. " No, sefior," he 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 171 

will reply, perhaps with a polite expression of regret ; 
"but, on the other hand, I speak French." Neverthe- 
less, he very often does speak English, and with fluency, 
acquired in England or the United States — preferably the 
former, he will add. 

The Spanish of Mexico is very similar to that of Peru, 
and this says much for a language separated by such 
vast distances. The same good accent and facility of 
expression and gesture, the same native eloquence, 
grandiloquent similies, philosophical allusions and vivid 
descriptions, not only concerning things great and im- 
portant, but things commonplace and everyday. The 
Mexican, however, partakes less of this character than 
the Peruvian. The pronunciation of the words, and 
especially of their termination, marks a great difference 
between the Mexican and Peruvian on the one hand and 
the Chilian on the other. The latter has developed a 
chopped and incomplete pronunciation, although it 
betrays the energetic and virile character of the Chileno 
in contrast to the more effeminate Peruvian. 

Life in Mexican cities does not lack colour and interest, 
and the peoples to be encountered in the streets show very 
varying traits and occupations. Here is the carriage of 
a wealthy citizen, drawn by a splendid pair of imported 
English horses ; here is a sweet-faced sefiorita, bending 
her steps towards her favourite temple, accompanied by 
some vigilant chaperon or domestic ; here two Mexican 
gentlemen pass each other on the narrow curb, each 
insisting upon giving the other the inside — the place 
of honour — and ceremoniously raising their silk hats to 
each other in salutation. Along comes a bull-fighter 
now, with his distinctive hat, slouch, and shaven face, 
the redoubtable torero, accompanied by admiring amigos, 
ready to pay for all the copas their hero might, with 
lordly dignity, desire to partake of. In the middle of 
the stone-paved street the peones, or perhaps some 
Indians from the country, porters, cargadores, or other 
humble occupation, slink along — the footpath is not for 
them — with their pantaloons of cotton mania rolled up to 



172 MEXICO 

their knees and their feet unshod or sandalled. The 
Mexican woman of the Indian class prefers to carry 
her shoes in her hand when she enters or leaves the 
city streets, putting them on only as a concession to 
civilisation and removing them when away. Some 
years ago it was necessary to pass a regulation to the 
effect that the Indians must wear trousers or other 
covering when in the city, as they continually asserted 
their aboriginal love of bodily freedom by appearing 
without them ! The life and colour of Mexican towns 
is characteristic, and the Mexican journeying to Britain's 
cities finds life flat and colourless, without gleam of 
mterest for him, its more solid basis of existence not 
easily falling into his comprehension. 

It is the spectacular which more readily appeals to 
the Mexican. The bull-fight, with its accompaniments 
of showy dress, tense excitement, and elements of 
danger and bloodshed, is his favourite amusement. 
Military parades and political functions enter largely 
into the distractions of polite life, as indeed is the case 
throughout Spanish-America generally. Military titles 
are exceedingly numerous. Formerly it was rare that 
a President, a Cabinet Minister, the Governor of a State, 
or the official head of a department did not carry 
the distinction of general or colonel. The dormant 
military spirit, indeed — and in view of Mexico's history 
it could hardly be otherwise — permeates the whole body 
politic, and its influence and effects give place very 
slowly to civil ideas. The tramp of armed men and 
accoutred horses, the roll of drum and call of trumpet, 
appeal ever to this race of warlike instinct. The gleam 
of arms and sabre possesses for them an attraction 
which the ploughshare or the miner's drill can never 
impart. Their ancestors, on the one side, were the 
warlike Aztecs and other aboriginal races, and on the 
other the Conquistadores and martial men of Spain. 
A note of their stirring national anthem, with its war- 
like words and martial strain, and the soldier — and 
warrior — instinct arises : — 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 173 

" Mexicanos al grito de guerra 
El fierro apretad i el bridon ! 
Y retumba sus entranas la tierra 
Al sonoro rugir del canon ! " 

Which might almost be translated in the fiery words 
of the— 

" Pibroch of Donnel Dhu ; pibroch of Donnel, 
Wake thy wild voice anew ; summon clan Connel. 
Come away ! come away ! hark to the summons, 
Come in your war array, gentles and commons ! " 



From such stern matters let us turn to a gentler theme 
— the woman of Mexico. The cultured upper-class are 
extremely exclusive as regards their women. Any sense 
of liberty or independence such as characterises the 
English or American girl is impossible with the Mexican. 
Between the sexes social intercourse before marriage is 
much restricted ; the rigid etiquette and seclusion of 
years gone by — almost Moorish in its character — scarcely 
giving way to the more tolerant ideas which pervade 
society in general elsewhere. Nevertheless, there has 
been some improvement in this condition, partly due to 
the influence of the numerous foreigners who reside in 
the capital, and, no doubt, time will effect a change. 
But far be it from the philosophical observer to suggest 
that such conditions should be hastily swept away. The 
Mexican, and Spanish-American woman generally, retains 
qualities and attributes, due partly to her up-bringing, 
which in some respects gain rather than lose in com- 
parison with the Anglo-Saxon woman. 

The Mexican lady is generally of refined and distin- 
guished manner and of a characteristically handsome 
type, with expressive eyes and a wealth of fine hair. 
As a girl she is of voluptuous form, remarkably attractive, 
and of romantic disposition. Her outlook on life is 
naturally somewhat restricted ; its main culminating 
point is in love and marriage ; and indeed the amorous 



174 MEXICO 

passions in the Mexican race of both sexes are exceed- 
ingly strongly developed, and very largely determine their 
friendships or quarrels. There is a slumberous Southern 
fire in the Mexican girls' eyes and love. Her passion is 
consuming, and has not the sense of expediency of the 
cold Northern races. 

This attractiveness of outward demeanour is accom- 
panied often by sterling qualities which make for happy 
motherhood. But most women of Spanish-American 
countries sacrifice themselves to their children, nor 
endeavour to preserve their youth much beyond its 
allotted span. Also, lack of hygienic measures — as that 
of active exercise — and the too excessive use of paint and 
powder in the toilette seem to bring on an early middle 
age. But apart from this it is a natural condition of the 
race that it matures early — the Mexican girl is ripe for 
marriage long before her Anglo-Saxon sisters — and then 
pays the penalty of an earlier fading. When there is an 
admixture of the aboriginal strain — and in few families 
this is absent — a tendency to extreme stoutness exists as 
middle age approaches, especially among women of the 
leisure class, whose life calls for no active labour as 
among their poorer sisters. Sweet, soft, and melancholy, 
yet often vivacious and always simpatica — such is the 
impression of the Mexican girl which remains upon the 
mind of the foreigner who has known her. It is always 
evident to the foreign observer that a too exaggerated 
habit of seclusion and reserve between the sexes, such as 
prevails in Spanish-American countries, defeats its own 
ends to some extent. The men of these countries, whilst 
outwardly courteous and corredo towards their women, 
to an almost excessive degree, have not the real respect 
towards them which the less polite Anglo-Saxon enter- 
tains towards his feminine world. Nor does this too 
artificial barrier conduce to any rigid condition of 
morality. It rather tends to encourage clandestine 
courtship and amours. 

But the Mexican girl's nature calls for admiration and 
notice. Behold the main street of the city during the 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 175 

fashionable shopping hours, lined with admiring young 
men, who make audible remarks as to the beauty of eyes, 
hair, or figure of the passing seiloritas — remarks which 
would give grave offence in cold-blooded England, but 
which are heard with inward gratification by their 
recipients. These young men of fashion make it an 
event of the day to line up in this way, attired in fashion- 
able garb, with an exaggerated height of collar and 
length of cuff ! Largartijos — lizards — they are dubbed 
in the language of the country. 

In the social life of Mexican cities religion plays an 
important part. Indeed, religion is the basis of politics — 
that is to say, the two political parties of the country 
are divided upon questions of religious control. Mexico, 
although the State divorced itself long ago from the 
Church, is, nevertheless, one of the firmest strongholds 
of Roman Catholicism in the New World. The hand- 
some cathedral and numerous fine churches in the 
capital City of Mexico, as in the capitals of the various 
States, attest the fervour of the people's religion. The 
numerous Church feast-days and varying functions form 
the most important events of society. On the more 
special occasions, as during the Semana Santa, or Passion 
Week, almost frenzied multitudes — men as well as women 
— attend the churches, entrance to which, unless one has 
gone early, it is impossible to gain on account of the 
multitude. Among a large section of the Mexican people, 
however, religious observance has very greatly fallen into 
disuse, a result of matters which have been previously 
dealt with, and which include the influence of former 
French thought; for Mexicans have always made an intense 
study and example of French philosophers and methods. 
But in the main it is the natural reaction against 
centuries of clerical domination, which the evolving 
modern spirit will have none of. The Roman Catholic 
Church in Mexico brought about its own downfall. The 
following translation from a recently published Mexican 
book shows the spirit pervading the modern Mexico in 
this connection : "The prevailing religion is Roman 



176 MEXICO 

Catholicism, but it may be said that its cult is confined 
to the weaker sex, as the majority of the men, although 
Catholic, do not practise any religion. Thus the State 
of Vera Cruz (for example) enjoys the fame of being 
Liberal. Marriage statistics show that in one year 
2,500 civil marriages were consummated against 1,218 
ecclesiastical." This is the State of Vera Cruz, of the 
" True Cross," where the Conquistadores tumbled down 
the Aztec idols from their teocallis and set up the image 
of the Virgin and Child ! 

But the Church and her religion is the Spanish- 
American woman's special kingdom. The attendance 
at Mass upon the Sabbath is the most important of her 
engagements. Whether in the cool of the early morn- 
ing, before the dewdrops have fallen from the flowers in 
the plaza, or whether at a later fashionable hour, she is to 
be seen, in charge of her chaperon, her fair face shaded 
by the romantic mantilla whose use time has failed to 
banish, devoutly directing her steps towards her favourite 
temple. Perhaps — confess it ! — you have followed her, 
and one bright glance has rewarded you before she dis- 
appeared within the portal — 

" Para que te mire, mujer divina ; 
Para que contemple tu faz hermosa ? 
Y tu labio encendido, cual rosa 
Es mi delirio . . ." 



Otherwise, the distractions of the Mexican women are 
few. Yet our sweet damsel of the dark eyes and demure 
lips who daily enters her temple, applauds with her little 
gloved hands — with the approval and accompaniment of 
her mamma — the onslaught of the fierce bull at the bull- 
fight, and sees the torturing of the unfortunate horses 
as, their life-blood rushing forth, they expire in the arena 
before her. And the populace — ha ! the populace of 
hoXidciy peones — how frenziedly they shout ! And the band 
plays a soft air, and the blue Mexican sky shimmers over- 
head. Love, blood, wine, dust — tempora ! mores ! 




SPANISH-COLONIAL CHURCH ARCHITECTURE : A TYPICAL MEXICAN TEMPLE. 

[To face p. 176. 



I 



THE MEXICAN PEOPLE 177 

This is Mexico ; carrying into the twentieth century 
the romance of the Middle Ages, tinging her new 
civiHsation still with the strong passions of the old, 
and refusing — whether unwisely, whether wisely, time 
shall show — to assimilate the doctrines of sheer com- 
mercialism whose votaries are hammering at her gates. 
But it is time now to review the cities and homes of 
this picturesque and developing people. 



13 



CHAPTER X 

THE CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS OF MEXICO 

Character of Mexican cities — Value of Mexican civilisation — Types of 
Mexican architecture — Mexican homes and buildings — The Plaza — 
Social relations of classes — The City of Mexico — Valley of Mexico — 
Latitude, elevation, and temperature — Buildings — Bird's-eye view — 
The lakes — Drainage works — Viga canal and floating gardens — 
General description — The cathedral — Art treasures — Religious 
orders — Chapultepec — Pasco de la Reforma — The President — 
Description of a bull-fight — Country homes and suburbs — Colleges, 
clubs, literary institutions — Churches and public buildings — Army 
and Navy — Cost of living — Police — Lighting and tramways — 
Canadian enterprise — British commercial relations — The American — 
United States influence — A general impression of Mexico. 

Mexico is a land of numerous capital cities — far more 
numerous than those of any South American country. 
These cities are entirely distinct in type to the centres 
of population of Anglo-Saxon North America. Their 
structure, environment, atmosphere, are those of the Old 
World rather than the New — that is to say, if the cities of 
the United States and Canada are to be taken as American 
types. 

Their character is that distinct Spanish-American one 
ever encountered in the countries which were the main 
centres of Spanish civilisation. Consequently there is 
much similarity between them. Standing in the Zocalo, 
or plaza of the City of Mexico, in front of the fine 
cathedral, we might imagine ourselves transported 2,500 
miles, more or less, to the south-east, to the handsome 
city of Lima with its plaza and cathedral. But we may 
journey over the whole of Anglo-Saxon America, north 
of the Mexican border, and we shall find nothing similar. 

178 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 179 

The difference in character of the two nationalities of 
the Americas is plainly stamped upon their respective 
cities. The one is sealed with a hurried activity — the 
mark of the exigencies of commerce ; the windows and 
doors of a business world, where men look out or emerge 
to the strife of money-making. Notwithstanding its 
wealth and solidity it bears a certain ephemeral stamp 
which the Mexican type does not convey. The atmo- 
sphere of this is one of serenity, of indifference to the 
feverish haste of money-getting, and its windows and 
doors give sight and footstep to less modern, less useful, 
perchance, but less evanescent a phase of civilisation. 
Let us theorise as we may, let us say what we will, about 
the progress of the world, but we continue to hope 
that the quiet civilisation of Spanish-America will pre- 
serve its character, for who can doubt that in the plan 
of nature there is some meaning in this preservation of a 
race which refuses to make the strife of commerce its 
main basis of progress. 

History and tradition are stamped upon the fagades of 
the stone-built cities of Mexico — religion and aristocracy 
have left their mark. They are cities of churches and 
convents, and of the abodes of the authoritative and the 
wealthy. They are far from being " republican " in 
aspect — that is, if the term is meant to convey the idea of 
democracy. The Governor's palace, the military ciiartel, 
the ecclesiastical seat, form the centres from which 
the ordinary streets and life of the people radiate. 
The general structure and disposition of these cities 
is dignified and convenient. The dominant idea is the 
central plaza, upon whose four sides are the abodes of 
the authorities. First is the cathedral, whose facade 
takes up a whole side, or, if the place is not a capital, 
an extensive church — the iglesia — occupies the place of 
honour. Following this are the national or municipal 
palaces, where the public business is transacted, whilst 
on the opposite sides are clubs, shops, or other main 
centres of business or pleasure. 

Generally, the upper storeys of the buildings in the 



180 MEXICO 

plaza — except the ecclesiastical — overhang the footpaths, 
or, rather, are built over them, supported by the character- 
istic portales, or series of arches and pillars facing the 
roadway. This type of structure is prevalent in almost 
all the older Spanish-American cities. It is a feature 
of Mexican and Peruvian cities, and is encountered even 
in remote places such as Arequipa and Cuzco, the old 
Inca capital in the heart of the Andes, where it was 
introduced by the Spanish builders. 

A similar type of architecture, especially as regards the 
houses, characterises all Mexican cities and towns. The 
plan of town dwelling is that with interior patio, wide 
saguan, or entrance door, and windows covered with 
outside grilles, either of bars or of wrought-iron scroll- 
work. From this patio, which in the wealthier houses 
is paved with marble, the doorways of the lower apart- 
ments open. The houses are of two storeys, and access 
to the upper is gained by a broad staircase which ter- 
minates on a wide balcony, or, rather, gallery, above 
the patio. From this gallery the doors of the upper 
rooms open. A balustrade runs round the outer side 
of the gallery, and this is generally covered with flowering 
plants, ferns, and palms, in pots or tubs, which lend an 
air of coolness and luxury to the interior. Above, the 
patio is open to the sky, except that the overhanging 
roof of the house covers the gallery, from which it is 
supported by pillars. The whole arrangement is pleasing, 
and adapted to the climate, and the foreigner who has 
become accustomed to it finds that it possesses certain 
advantages which the houses of his own country do not 
enjoy. 

On the other hand, this plan of building has grave 
drawbacks. The absence of a garden or grounds in 
front of, or surrounding the house, gives a restricted 
feeling. The main difference between an English and 
a Mexican house is that the Briton loves to cut off too- 
close intercourse with humanity by retiring his dwelling 
far from the road, whilst the Spanish-American builds 
his fronting immediately upon the street. In these 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 181 

houses, moreover, the rooms generally open one into 
the other, which is far from the Northerner's idea of 
privacy. This fact, indeed, is born of a race character- 
istic — the closer association between the members of 
families which obtains with the Latin race. The guest 
in these houses — somewhat to his embarrassment if he 
be an Englishman — sometimes finds a glass door, with 
no means of screening him from observation, the division 
between his apartment and that of some other — possibly 
a reception-room ! Moreover, light and ventilation often 
seem quite secondary matters, for as a rule the rooms — 
in the case of the interior one — simply open on to the 
patio gallery above it if it be the second floor, with 
glass door and no windows. Consequently, if light or 
air are required, it is necessary to keep these open, 
and this is, of course, difficult at night. The Mexican 
thinks nothing of sleeping in a closed-up room all night, 
and shuts his doors and windows — where windows exist 
— and closes his shutters to the " dangers " of the outside 
air ! 

There are rarely fireplaces or stoves in Mexican houses. 
Of course, in the tropics these are not required, but in the 
cities of the uplands it is often bitterly cold. There is a 
popular belief that warming the air of a room by artificial 
heat in the rarefied air of the uplands induces pneumonia, 
but it is doubtful if this has any real foundation. And 
the Mexican prefers to shiver under cover of a poncho, 
rather than to sit in comfort and warmth, after the 
European or American fashion. On the other hand, 
the Englishman who has experienced the inveterate 
habit of overheating of the houses and offices of New 
York or other parts of the United States will prefer the 
Mexican method. Nothing is more trying to the Briton 
than the sudden change of temperature from the high- 
heated American office or house to the bitter cold of its 
winter streets, such conditions as prevail in the United 
States : or the overheating of American trains. 

The architecture of Mexican cities is often of a solid 
and enduring type, especially the buildings of older 



182 MEXICO 

construction ; and many of these date from the time 
of the earlier viceroys. All public buildings and 
ecclesiastical edifices are of this nature. The modern 
buildings have, in some instances, followed out the 
same style, eminently suitable for the country, but others 
have adopted a bastard and incongruous so-called 
" modern " type, copied from similar structures in 
Europe or the United States, where pure utility of 
interior has been clothed with undignified exterior 
of commercial character, marking a certain spirit of 
transition in its inhabitants. This is partly due to the 
ruthless American industrial invasion, which, whilst it 
has valuable elements for the country, should not be 
allowed to stamp a shoddy modernism upon the more 
dignified antiquity of environment. This tendency, how- 
ever, has not yet had time to show itself, except in a few 
instances in the capital. Nevertheless, some portions of 
the City of Mexico have already been spoilt by the 
speculative Anglo-American builder, who has generally 
called himself an architect in order to perpetrate appalling 
rows of cheap adobe houses or pretentious- looking villas, 
made of the slimmest material and faced with that sin- 
covering cloak of tepetatly or plaster " staff." Even some 
of the principal streets of the capital have been disfigured 
with hideous pretentious business structures, for which 
the Anglo-American element, whether in fact or example, 
has been responsible. If the Mexicans are wise they will 
sternly refuse to adopt much of steel construction or of 
" staff " and corrugated iron covering imported from the 
north, but to limit their buildings to native materials of 
stone or brick and their elevation to two or, at most, three 
storeys. The skyscraper is at home in New York or 
Chicago ; in Mexico (or in London) it is the abomination 
of desolation. In San Francisco the outraged earth 
endeavoured to shake them off a year or so ago in an 
earthquake ! An attractive feature of Mexican houses 
is the flat roofs, or azoteas. These are often made 
accessible from the interior and adorned with plants 
and flowers, and even the heavy rain-storms of certain 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 183 

regions do not seem to influence this type of construction 
or demand the rapid watershed of the gabled roof. 
During the time of the conquest of the City of Mexico 
these azoteas formed veritable coigns of vantage for 
the Aztecs, who poured down a hail of darts and stones 
upon the besiegers. 

The plaza of the Spanish-American city is its main 
centre. Thence the principal streets emerge, and there, 
upon its prettily planted and shady promenade fore- 
gather the people to listen to the sercnata, or playing 
of the band on frequent occasions. The Mexicans are 
passionately fond of music, and a wise governmental 
sentiment has tound that it is a useful part of govern- 
ment. Therefore it is decreed that the bands shall play, 
free of cost, to the multitude. In some cities the plaza- 
promenade has two paved footpaths adjoining each 
other — the inner for the elite and well-dressed class, 
the outer for the peon and Indian class. It would be 
manifestly impossible that the hordes of blanket-clothed, 
piilqiie-S'diuvTiitdy ill-smelling, and picturesque lower class 
could rub shoulders with the genie decente or upper 
class, nor do they desire to do so. They take their fill 
of the music quite indifferent to the presence of their 
superiors in the social grade, and the vendors of native 
sweetmeats, cooling drinks, and fruits ply their trade 
among them. On one side of the plaza, in the smaller 
towns, there are booths or tables where food is being 
cooked and displayed for the lower orders ; and the 
savoury odour of frijoles and tortillas, or other matters 
of satisfaction to the peon, greet the nostrils of the 
promenader from time to time. The well-dressed 
seiloritas and their male acquaintances, with ceaseless 
charla, or small-talk, promenade round and round the 
plaza, flirting, laughing, and enjoying life in a way 
that seems only possible to the Latin race. Indeed, 
the plaza is the principal meeting-place of the sexes. 

As has been remarked, Mexico is a land of 
many capital cities. From the City of Mexico, north- 
ward along the plateau and southward, eastward, and 



184 MEXICO 

westward, we may visit a score of handsome State 
capitals, a hundred towns, and an endless succession 
of remote villages and hamlets. Their environments 
embrace every change of scenery — from arid plains 
and rocky steeps to fertile valleys ; and the larger 
communities share the quaint — if not always hygienic 
— disposition and atmosphere of their especial national 
character. At times, however, the smaller hamlets, or 
collection of primitive habitations of the plateau, have 
an inexpressibly dreary and squalid aspect, the backward- 
ness and poverty of their people being well stamped 
thereon. Treeless, dusty, and triste, they strike a note 
of melancholy within us. The towns of the Pacific 
and Gulf slopes have generally some added charm 
afforded by the tropic vegetation surrounding them, 
and we shall often mark with surprise, after days of 
dusty and arduous journeying, that we have suddenly 
entered a handsomely built town, sequestered far from 
beaten routes of travel, yet bearing a stamp of per- 
manence and solidity and the air of an independent 
entity. 

The first city of importance in the country is, of course, 
the Federal capital of the Republic, with its population of 
369,000 inhabitants. 

Standing towards the southern extremity of the great 
plateau of Anahuac, reposing in a beautiful valley full of 
natural resources, and rich with historic lore, is the City 
of Mexico. Of singular and varied interest is this capital 
of the prosperous North American Republic whose name 
it bears, for its geographical situation and historical asso- 
ciations are such as assign it a leading place among the 
great centres of Spanish-American civilisation. 

In many respects the capital of Mexico may be con- 
sidered the queen city of Latin America. Buenos Ayres 
is much larger and of greater importance as a centre of 
population, but it has not Mexico's history and tradition. 
The commerce of Santiago and Valparaiso are potent 
factors in the life of the Pacific coast, but the Chilean 
capital and seaport are but modern creations in com- 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 185 

parison with the old city of the land of Anahuac. Only 
Lima, the beautiful and interesting capital of her sister 
nation — Peru — is comparable with Mexico as a centre of 
historical tradition and Spanish-American culture. Of 
course, the City of Mexico with its large population is 
much larger than Lima, with less than 150,000. 

Indeed, there are many points of similarity between 
Mexico and Peru, such as have been discussed elsewhere, 
and which are the common knowledge of the student, 
but the City of Mexico possesses a special interest in that 
it was actually the seat of a prehistoric American civilisa- 
tion — that of the Aztecs — whilst its position between the 
great oceans which bathe the American coasts, give it a 
value for the future of untold possibilities. 

The Valley of Mexico, wherein the capital is situated, 
is a broad elevated plain, or basin, surrounded by hills, 
which culminate far away to the south-east in the snow- 
clad summits of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl — the 
extinct volcanoes of the Sierra Madre. The combined 
conditions of its latitude and elevation above sea-level 
— 190 26 N., 990 7 W., and 7,410 feet — have dowered it 
with an agreeable and salubrious climate, with an annual 
range of temperature from 60° F. to 75° F. The morn- 
ings are cool and bracing, often bitterly cold indeed ; 
whilst the midday sun is often hot, and the Mexican stays 
within the cool of his thick-walled house, for it is the 
hour of siesta. Excessive extremes of heat and cold are 
not encountered, although at night the Mexican gladly 
dons his velvet-lined cape, and the foreigner his over- 
coat, whilst the poor peon shrouds himself in his scrape. 

The city is one of handsome buildings, wide streets, 
and fine avenues. Its architecture bears the stamp of 
its Spanish origin — the typical and picturesque fa9ades 
of the houses, the grille-covered windows, the balconies 
looking on to the streets, and other characteristic 
features well known to the traveller in Spanish- 
America. The great plaza, ever the pulse and centre 
of these communities, is known here as the Zocalo ; 
and this ample square is that same one around which 



186 MEXICO 

the Aztec city — the famous Tenochtitlan — was built, 
upon whose foundations the Mexican capital arose. 

The plan of the city is more or less the geometri- 
cally regular one of main and cross-streets running at 
right angles to each other, and the principal of these 
are lined with shops, whose windows display luxurious 
articles of jewellery, clothing, and other effects such 
as betoken the taste and purchasing power of a 
wealthy upper class. It is a city of domes and towers, 
which rise above the surrounding roofs, and convey 
that aspect of charm and refinement unknown to the 
purely business cities of Anglo North America. The 
strong part which the Church has played is shown by 
the numerous and handsome churches in every quarter 
of the city. There are more than one hundred and 
twenty churches and other edifices which were built 
and formerly occupied for ecclesiastical purposes. 
The cathedral is the dominating structure, and its two 
great towers, nearly 200 feet high, are conspicuous 
from any point of view. 

Let us behold this pleasing city from afar before 
examining more in detail the institutions and habita- 
tions of its people. The environs of the capital form 
a good setting to its beauty. Taking our stand on 
the range of hills which bound the Valley of Mexico, 
our eyes rest upon the cultivated fields and gardens 
of the smaller towns which dot the plain and lead up 
to the central mass. Green meadows, running streams, 
great plantation of maguey, giving their characteristic 
semi-tropical aspect to the landscape, surround 
haciendas and villages embowered in luxuriant foliage, 
all lying beneath the azure vault of the Mexican sky. 
The gleam of domes and towers, softened in the 
glamour of the distance, catches our eyes ; and the 
reposeful atmosphere and mediaeval tints seem to belie 
the strife of its past, or even the incidents of its 
modern industrial life. There is the Castle of Chapul- 
tepec surrounded by trees, the beautiful and venerable 
ahuahuetes, or cypresses, surmounting its hill — the Aztec 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 187 

" Hill of the Grasshoppers " where Montezuma's palace 
was, and where stands the fine structure reared by the 
viceroys, now the official residence of the Presi- 
dents of Mexico of to-day. And there lies Guadalupe 
gleaming in the sun, with its famous shrine of 
miraculous visions and cures — the Lourdes of Mexico. 
There lie Tacubaya, San Angel, and Tlalpam, luxurious 
and aristocratic suburban homes of Mexico's wealthy 
citizens, surrounded by their exuberant vegetation on 
fertile hillsides mid soft and soothing colour and balmy 
atmosphere. From the pine-clad hills whereon we stand, 
which form the rim of this singular valley, the whole 
panorama is open to the view, of lakes and flat plain, the 
latter crossed by the dusty roads cut by centuries of 
traffic through the white adobe soil, giving access to the 
surrounding villages and the serried lines of the maguey 
plantations, or the chess-board chequers of dark green 
alfalfa, lighter barley, and yellow maiz. And from plain 
and dusty road, and vivid hacienda and city domes and 
whitened walls, our gaze rises to the clear-cut, snowy 
crest of "The Sleeping Woman," Ixtaccihuatl, in her 
gleaming porcelain sheen, where she hoards the treasures 
of the snow, reminding us of the peaks of the great South 
American Cordillera, to whose system she and her 
consort Popocatepetl are but a more recent addition. 
Like legendary sentinels of a vanished past, they seem to 
overwatch the valley. 

The Valley of Mexico is a flat plain, in the lowest 
portion of which the City of Mexico is situated, two 
or three miles from Lake Texcoco. The plain consists 
of lands barren and lands cultivated, marshes and 
swamps, all intersected by numerous streams falling into 
the lakes, as well as irrigation and drainage canals, whilst 
on the rising ground which appears in places the volcanic 
understructure is laid bare, often in the form of great lava 
sheets. The group of lakes have been elsewhere described 
in these pages. Lake Texcoco, whose shores are now 
distant from the city, is a dreary waste of brackish 
water with scarcely any fish-life, inhabited by water-fowl 



188 MEXICO 

at certain seasons. During the period of overflow its 
rising waters cover many added square miles of ground, 
but in the dry season the water recedes, leaving saline- 
covered marshes of desolate aspect. Lakes Chalco 
and Xochimilco, however, are very different in their 
regimen and aspect. They are of fresh water, and stand 
at an elevation some lo feet higher than Texcoco, into 
which they discharge. Fertile meadows surround these, 
and Xochimilco is now, as it was at the time of the 
Conquest, a " Field of Flowers," which is the meaning 
of its native nomenclature, not unworthy of the designa- 
tion of an " earthly paradise," which the modern Mexicans 
bestow upon it. 

The position of the City of Mexico near Lake Texcoco, 
which receives the waters of all the other lakes of the 
system, has ever rendered it liable to inundation, and 
to a saturated and unhealthy subsoil, conditions which, 
were it not for the healthy atmosphere of the bracing 
uplands whereon the valley is situated, would un- 
doubtedly make for a high death-rate. The drainage 
and control of the waters of the valley have formed 
matters of thought for Mexico's successive Governments 
for more than four centuries. Work to this end was 
begun under Montezuma in 1449, nearly three-quarters 
of a century before the Conquest. During the colonial 
regime further works were undertaken, in 1553, to replace 
those destroyed by Cortes, followed by other works in 
1604 and 1708. But only after the Republican regime 
was established was the work carried to completion, 
upon a plan brought forward by a Mexican engineer. 
These works, which were mainly carried out during 
the closing years of last century by English firms 
of engineers and contractors,^ consist of a canal and 
tunnel. The canal is thirty miles long, flowing from 
the city and bearing its sewage and storm-waters, and 
takincf the overflow from Lake Texcoco : and dis- 
charging thence into a tunnel, perforating the rim of the 
valley, about six and a half miles long. This in turn 
I S. Pearson & Sons, Ltd., London, and Read, Campbell & Co. 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 189 

empties into a discharge conduit and a ravine, and the 
waters, after having served for purposes of irrigation 
and for actuating a hydro-electric station, fall into an 
affluent of the Panuco river and so into the Gulf of 
Mexico. This work, which is the climax of the attempts 
of four hundred years or more, reflects much credit upon 
its constructors and the Government of Diaz, which 
financed it at a total cost of sixteen million Mexicali 
dollars. 

An Aztec hydraulic work of the Valley of Mexico 
is the Viga Canal, which leads from the Indian quarter 
of the city, crossing swamps, plantations, and waste 
lands to Xochimilco, the " Field of Flowers." Along this 
canal ply daily primitive canoes and punts laden with 
vegetables, flowers, and other produce for the native 
market. The floating gardens, or chinampas, far-famed 
of Mexico, are encountered upon this canal. But, alas ! 
the "floating gardens" do not float, nor is it possible 
to prove that they ever did, in plain, prosaic fact. 
They consist of areas of spongy soil intersected by 
numerous irrigation ditches, where the traveller may 
observe the Indian owners industrially watering them 
and tending their profuse array of flowers and vegetables. 
New " floating gardens " are sometimes made by the 
method of driving stakes into the shallow bottom of 
the lake, winding rushes about them and filling in with 
the fertile mud. 

The city itself is surrounded on all sides, except that 
leading to Chapultepec, by miles of squalid streets, where 
dwell the poor and outcast of the community — and their 
name is legion. Yet these surroundings, if squalid, are 
less painful than the frightful East End dens of London, 
or the appalling Bowery and east side of New York. 
American cities, whether North or South, have produced 
nothing in their boasted march towards " liberty," which 
is an alleviation for the proletariat, above the cities of 
Europe. These mean yet picturesque streets give place 
as we enter to those inhabited by the better class, whose 
dwellings generally exist side by side and interspersed 



190 MEXICO 

with the shops and commercial establishments, after the 
general fashion of Spanish-American cities. This is indeed 
a notable feature of their regimen. Here is the old home 
of a former viceroy or of a modern grandee, cheek by 
jowl with a little bread or liquor shop ; its handsome 
doorway, worthy of study, but a few paces away from 
the humble entrance of the tienda aforesaid. The names 
of some of Mexico's streets and squares are reminiscent 
of the past or of fanciful story and legend and heroic 
incident. Here is the puente de Alvarado, formerly the 
Teolticalli, or Toltec canal ; here the street of the 
Indio triste, or that of the Nino perdido ; the " sad 
Indian" and the "lost child" respectively. Redolent 
of the Mexico of the viceroys, of political intrigue, of 
love and liasons, of the cloak and the dagger, are some 
of the old streets, balconies, and portals of Mexico. 
Here the Spanish cavalier, with sword and muffling 
cape, stalked through the gloom to some intrigue of 
love or villainy, and here passed cassocked priest and 
barefooted friars, long years ago. Here sparkling eyes 
looked forth from some twilight lattice what time from 
the street below arose the soft notes of a serenading 
guitar. As to the sparkling eyes and the serenading 
lover and the balconies, these are not gone ; they are 
imperishable in Mexico. Here is a description of Mexico 
of years ago — the Mexico of the viceroys — which I will 
translate freely from the description of a Mexican writer 
of to-day, and which in some respects might almost 
describe the city at the present time : " Hail, mediaeval 
city, redolent of sentimental recollections and romantic 
impressions such as well might be the creation of 
fantastic romance ! Clustered with monasteries and 
convents, turreted dwellings and sombre monuments, 
bathed in an atmosphere of orisons and melancholy, 
threaded by foul and ill-paved alleys, made for crime, 
intrigue, and mystery; where buried in the profundity of 
night love and wickedness both stalked forth ; strange 
temples and niches lit by twinkling lamps before the 
images of saints ; recollections of diabolical Inquisitorial 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 191 

rites — a romantic and fantastic shroud, dissipated now, 
torn into shreds by the iron hand of destiny, and 
banished or transfigured by the torch of progress ! " 

As has been said, the construction of the houses 
of Mexico was of solid type, with walls such as might 
serve for fortresses rather than dwellings, and when from 
necessity, some old building is demolished it can only 
be performed by the aid of dynamite. So builded the 
Spaniards, and their work will outlast the more ephemeral 
structures of to-day. Indeed, at the beginning of the 
colonial period and throughout the sixteenth century, 
the buildings actually were constructed both as dwellings 
and fortresses. At the end of that century a greater 
refinement of architectural art appeared — as a natural 
outcome of corresponding conditions in Spain — in the 
colonies. The great cathedral of Mexico was con- 
structed, due to a mandate of Philip II. It was dedi- 
cated in 1667, but not concluded until the beginning 
of the nineteenth century, and into its fafade enter 
the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. It is an 
exceedingly handsome building, both interiorily and 
exteriorily, and it stands upon the spot where the great 
Aztec teocalli stood — the shrine of the abominable war- 
god of the early Mexicans. The edifice stands upon 
the soft subsoil of which the city's foundation is com- 
posed, softness which has caused the subsidence of 
other buildings ; but the cathedral, although it has suffered 
somewhat from earthquake shocks, stands firm and solid 
as ever. Valuable art treasures exist within, among the 
pictures being a Murillo, and possibly a Velasquez. 
So numerous are these old pictures that they overlap 
each other upon the walls. The cathedral is nearly 
400 feet long, and its interior rises upon twenty splendid 
Doric columns for 180 feet, whilst the apices of the great 
towers are 204 feet above the pavement. But this 
splendid temple — as is often the case with the cathedrals 
of Spanish-American capitals — is not the fashionable or 
aristocratic resort of Mexico's religious people. Never- 
theless, its aisles are generally thronged, and the high- 



192 MEXICO 

born and expensively attired lady and the poor peon 
woman, with her modest rebosa, or shawl, may be seen 
side by side kneeling upon its knee-worn floor, whilst 
before the images in the seven chapels of its aisles there 
are never wanting supplicating figures, nor the numerous 
little written supplications pinned upon their altar rails. 

It would be endless to describe the other numerous 
ecclesiastical buildings and temples of the City of Mexico. 
Their number and beauty are indicative of the strength 
and rooted persistence of religion and monastic orders 
in New Spain. Among the principal of these Orders 
and the dates at which their corresponding habitations 
were erected, were those of the Franciscans, 1524 ; Domi- 
nicans, 1526; Augustinians, 1533; Jesuits, 1572; Carme- 
lites, 1585 ; and various others, with numerous convents. 

The principal commercial and fashionable street of 
Mexico City is that of Plateros, somewhat narrow and 
congested, but full of high-class hops. Thence it con- 
tinues along Bucareli ^ and the broad Avenida de 
Juarez, which in turn is continued by the famous Paseo 
de la Reforma, a splendid drive and promenade of several 
miles in length, which terminates at the Castle of Chapul- 
tepec. This great road is planted throughout its length 
with trees and adorned with a profusion — almost too 
great— of statues, and along both sides are private houses 
of modern construction. These are less picturesque, but 
more comfortable, than the old Spanish-built dwellings 
before described, although at times somewhat bizarre in 
their fafades, with a certain nouveau riche air, consequent 
upon the transition period of Mexican life of recent 
years. The beautiful monument and statue of Guatemoc 
is planted in this avenue, and is worthily deemed a 
successful embodiment of Aztec art sculptured by modern 
chisels. Upon Sunday mornings — the fashionable time 
of serenata or promenade concert — the wealth and beauty 
of the capital foregather in carriages and upon foot and 
listen to the strains of the band. Here we may, from the 
seats of our victoria, observe the Mexican upper class 
^ Named after the viceroy who caused its construction. 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 193 

at our — and their — ease. Hats off ! A private carriage 
comes driving swiftly by ; its coachman attired after the 
English fashion, and the whole equipage of similar 
character. In it is a well-dressed gentleman well past 
the middle age, with dark complexion and characteristic 
features. It is the citizen-President, the redoubtable 
General Diaz, and the universal salutations are evi- 
dence of his popularity. The air is balmy and the 
warmth of the sun pleasant. But at any moment these 
conditions may change, and a ruthless dust-storm, swept 
by the wind from the dry adobe plains surrounding the 
city, descend upon us, the fine dust covering our clothes 
and bidding us direct our coachman to turn his horses' 
heads towards our hotel. This, however, is not frequent, 
but when it does occur it brings a certain sense of 
disillusion akin to that felt by the British holiday-maker 
when he has gone down to an English seaside place to 
enjoy the balmy air and finds a bitter east wind blowing! 

But the bull-fight — ha ! the bull-fight — takes place this 
— Sunday — afternoon, for this is the Mexican Sunday 
sport ; a kind of licence, possibly, after the numerous 
misas of the early morning 1 We have purchased our 
seat in the sombra of the great bull-ring, and the corrida 
is about to begin. Let us glance round the assembly of 
many thousands of persons. The seats of the great 
amphitheatre are divided into two classes — the sol and 
the sombra, " sun " and " shade." That is to say, that 
the seats in the shady portion — for the structure is open 
to the sky — are of one class, and command a high price 
of, say, ten pesos each, whilst the sun-beat portion is of 
an inferior class, and price, say, one peso. It is a sea of 
faces we gaze upon, the elite of the city in the sombra, 
and the lower classes, the peones and others, in the sol. 

The arena is empty, but suddenly a bugle-call sounds 
from the judges' platform, and the picadores, men on 
horseback, with their legs protected by armour and bear- 
ing sharp-pointed lances in their hands, enter and ride 
around the arena, bowing to the judges and assembled 
multitude, who receive them with plaudits. Again a 

14 



194 MEXICO 

bugle-call, and the sliding doors leading from the corral 
are opened, and a bull, bounding forward therefrom, 
stops short a moment and eyes the assembled multitude 
and the men on horseback with wrathful yet inquiring 
eye. A moment only. Sniffing the air and lashing his 
tail, the noble bovine rushes forward and engages the 
picadores ; the little pennants of the national colours, 
which, attached to a barbed point, have been jabbed into 
his back by an unseen hand as he passed the barrier, 
fluttering in the wind created by his rush. Furiously he 
charges the picadores. If they are clever they goad him 
to madness with their lances, keeping him at bay ; if he 
is resolute down go horse and man — both results tickling 
the popular fancy immensely — and those frightful horns 
are buried deep in the bowels of the unfortunate steed, 
which, maddened with agony and fright, leaps up and 
tears around the arena, trampling perhaps upon his own 
entrails which have gushed forth from the gaping wound ! 
At times the wound is hastily sewn up, and the un- 
fortunate horse, with a man behind him with a heavy 
whip, another tugging at the bridle, and the picador on 
his back with his enormous spurs, forces the trembling 
brute to face the savage bull again, whilst the audience 
once more roars out its applause. As many as ten horses 
are killed or ruined at times by a single bull, who returns 
again and again to plunge his horns into the prostrate 
carcase ere it is dragged away. This is sport ! 

But perhaps the bull himself is faint-hearted ! Then, 
indeed, the noble Spanish blood of the audience is 
aroused to fever pitch. '^Otro toro! Otro toro" — "Another 
bull 1 bring another bull ! " — rises from a thousand 
throats. Otherwise the other acts of the performance 
take their course, and the banderilleros, bull-fighters 
armed with short gaudily decorated spears with barbed 
points, come on. Some " pretty " play now ensues, the 
banderilleros constantly facing the bull at arm's length 
with the object of gracefully sticking the spears or 
banderillas in the neck of the animal, where, if success- 
ful, they hang dangling as, smarting with the pain, the 




Q . 

z. 5 

:; a: 
o5 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 195 

bull tears round the arena, to the accompaniment of the 
delighted roar of the crowd. This scene is repeated 
again and again, until perhaps several pairs of banderillas 
are depending from the shoulders of the maddened 
animal. The capeadores have not been idle, and the 
bull, repeatedly charging them and meeting only the 
empty flapping of the capas — the scarlet cloaks which 
the bull-fighters charged with this ofBce wield — works 
himself into a paroxysm of rage, which must be seen to 
be understood. Oftentimes the capeadores are severely 
injured ; sometimes killed in the act by a terrific stroke 
of the bull's horns. 

But hark ! once more a bugle-call, strong and sonorous, 
from the judges' box ; the well-known notes which call 
the espada to his task ; the last act in the drama — for 
drama it is. The espada is the most famous bull-fighter 
of all. His salary is a princely one ; his reputation 
extends over two continents, from Old Madrid to Old 
Mexico. He is the great star in all that richly-dressed 
galaxy of toreros — for their gorgeous silver and gold 
spangled attire baffles description — and all his com- 
paneros are but lesser lights, paling before his name and 
powers. And now the band, which has hitherto sent 
forth joyous music, plays a sad and mournful air. The 
espada takes the sword from an attendant and examines 
and curves it with critical and expert eye. Then, taking 
off his gold and silver-embroidered cocked-hat, he bows 
low towards the judges and to the fair ladies of the 
sonibra ; and in fitting phrase " dedicates " the stroke he 
is about to perform to them. Or otherwise, with his 
hand upon his heart, he turns towards the occupants of 
the sol, and again bowing low dedicates the coming 
stroke and the doomed bull thus : "Al Querido Pueblo! " — 
" To the beloved people " ! A hush falls upon the great 
assembly : a pin might be heard to drop : the bull, who 
during these preliminaries — somewhat fatigued but full 
of life and anger — has been standing in the arena with 
his attention diverted by the capeadores, is now left to face 
his doom at the hands of the expert espada. Bull and 



196 MEXICO 

man slowly approach, eyeing each other as those whose 
quarrel is to the death, whilst the notes of the music 
sound low and mournful. Within arm's length the 
espada extends his shining blade. He glances along it; 
the bull leaps forward to charge ; there is a swift thrust ; 
the blade goes home in that fatal spot which only the 
expert knows ; and tottering, swaying, and falling, the 
noble bull leans over and falls prone to the dust. He 
raises his head with a last effort ; the espada rushes for- 
ward, places his foot upon the prostrate neck, and, exert- 
ing a mighty strength, draws forth the scarlet, dripping 
blade, and a crimson stream of life-blood spurts forth 
from the wound, whilst the animal, making " the sign of 
the cross" with its forefoot upon the sand, lowers his 
noble crest — dead 1 

Then are the bounds of pandemonium let loose. How 
the audience of the sol shrieks and cheers ! Hats, sticks, 
cloaks, belts, even money, are thrown into the arena like 
hail, and nothing is too good for the successful espada 
and the idol of the moment. Even the dignified sonihra 
shouts itself hoarse, and at times showers bank-notes and 
jewellery down, and perhaps — let it be whispered low, 
for it is not unknown ! — a billet-doux or papelito for the 
brave torero from some newly-created female admirer. 
Grave gentlemen in frock-coats and ladies in elegant 
attire, on the one hand, discuss the points of the enter- 
tainment, whilst the red serapes of the peones and pelados 
and their great sombreros rush animatedly to and fro. 
The band plays, the crowd pours into the street, and the 
long shadows fall from the blue Mexican sky across the 
dust of their departure, whilst a team of horses drag 
forth the quivering flesh of the vanquished bull to the 
corral, and the Sabbath Day draws to its close. 

The Mexican upper and middle class share the general 
Spanish-American characteristic of preference for life in 
their cities. Expeditions into the country are matters to 
be avoided if possible. The gilded youth of the capital 
and members of polite society generally, do not like to 
leave the conveniences of good pavements, restaurants, 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 197 

fashionable bars and clubs and the like, and to venture 
into the hot sun or cold winds of the country regions. 
It is true, however, that there is a certain exodus to their 
haciendas of the upper-class families in the season cor- 
responding thereto ; but the love of the country for its 
own sake, or for sport, exercise, or exploration, as under- 
stood by Englishmen, is unknown. There are no country 
houses, as in Great Britain, where wealthy people reside 
because they prefer it ; for the Mexican prefers to live in 
the main streets of his cities, the great doorway of his 
patio and his barred windows opening and looking imme- 
diately on to the streets. 

On the other hand, the wealthy inhabitant of the capital 
often lives in the quaint and beautiful towns adjacent 
thereto, and reached by rail or electric car with a few 
miles' journey. Such places are Tacubaya, San Angel, 
Tlalpam, and others, and here spacious and picturesque 
stone houses — some of considerable age — surrounded by 
luxuriant gardens where oranges, pomegranates, and other 
semi-tropical flora lend shade and beauty, attest the 
wealth and taste of their inhabitants. Serene and old- 
world is the atmosphere surrounding these " palaces " 
— for some are worthy of this designation — and with 
their environment of summer sky and glorious landscape 
they form real oases of that romantic and luxurious 
character which the foreigner in his fancy has attributed 
to Mexico, but which he fails to encounter in the newer 
quarters of the city. 

To treat at much length of the numerous institutions 
and buildings of the capital would be to fill a volume. 
The parks, monuments, museums, art gallery, public 
library, theatres, hygienic establishments, hospitals, 
prisons, new drainage - system, pure water - supply, 
national palaces and public buildings, colleges, schools, 
clubs : mining, engineering, medical science, and art 
institutions : all mark the character of the people as 
lovers of progress, art, and science, with strongly 
developed literary and artistic perceptions and idealistic 
aims, which they are striving to apply to the good of 



198 MEXICO 

their people, as far as circumstances render it possible. 
All the machinery of State affairs and municipal and 
social life are excellently ordered theoretically, and in 
time may be expected to work out in general practice to 
a fuller extent. 

Education is provided for by compulsory primary in- 
struction throughout the Republic, and by preparatory 
and professional schools and colleges in the capital, all 
of which are free. The principal of these latter in the 
capital are the Preparatory College, or High School, 
providing a general curriculum ; the College of Juris- 
prudence, devoted to law and sociology ; the Medical 
College, to medicine and kindred subjects ; the School 
of Engineering, whether civil, mining, electrical, or all 
other branches of that profession, which is looked upon 
as a very important one ; School of Agriculture ; School 
of Commerce ; School of Fine Arts ; Conservatory of 
Music ; Schools of Arts and Trades, for boys and girls 
respectively ; Normal Colleges, for men and women 
respectively. All these educational institutions are sup- 
ported by the Federal Government in the capital, by 
which it is seen that the Mexican nation is holding 
forth good opportunity to its citizens for acquiring know- 
ledge. Notwithstanding these facilities the education of 
the lower classes proceeds but slowly, and at present 
less than 13 per cent, of the entire population can read 
and write. It is to be recollected, however, that the 
great bulk of the population consist of the peones and 
the Indians, and the conditions of the life of these 
render the acquisition of education by them often im- 
possible. Knowledge cannot else but slowly unfold for 
the indigenous peoples of Spanish-America, weighed 
down as they are by conditions of race, caste, and in- 
herited and imposed social burdens. 

Prominent among the literary, scientific, and art insti- 
tutions of Mexico City are the Geographical Society, the 
oldest of all, founded in 1833 ; the Geological Society ; 
the Association of Engineers and Architects ; Society of 
Natural History ; the five Academies of Medicine, 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 199 

Jurisprudence, Physical and Natural Science, Spanish 
Language, Social Science, respectively ; also the Antonio 
Alzate Scientific Society and the Pedro Escobedo Medical 
Society. Of museums and galleries are the Academy of 
San Carlos, with fine specimens of European and Mexican 
art, among the former of which are works by Velasquez, 
Murillo, Ribera, and others attributed to Rubens, 
Leonardo da Vinci, Van Dyck, &c. The National 
Museum, which was founded in 1865, is an important 
and interesting institution, in which are preserved the 
famous archaeological and ethnological objects and 
collections illustrative of prehistoric Mexico. It was 
founded in 1865, and attracts Mexican and foreign 
visitors to the annual number of nearly a quarter of a 
million. The famous prehistoric Calendar Stone is pre- 
served here.i There are various other museums devoted 
to special subjects. Of libraries, the Biblioteca Nacional 
ranks first — a handsome building with 365,000 volumes 
for public use. The building is a massive stone structure, 
and was originally built for a church. A garden sur- 
rounds it, and upon the stone pillars of the enclosure 
are busts of Mexicans and Aztecs famous in history, as 
Ixtlilxochitl, Tezozomoc, Nezahualcoyotl, the king-poet ; 
Clavijero, the historian, and others. Other libraries are 
maintained by various museums and professions. 

There are some sixty or more Catholic churches in the 
city, and numerous other buildings formerly of ecclesi- 
astical purpose. Most of these were built during the 
colonial regime, the Spanish Renaissance being the pre- 
vailing style. Several Protestant places of worship exist 
— religious observance being absolutely free — and these 
include Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Bap- 
tists, and others. The religious census, made in 1900, 
of the whole of the Republic gave thirteen and a half 
million persons declaring themselves as Catholics, about 
52,000 Protestants, 1,500 Mormons, 2,000 Buddhists, and 
aboat 19,000 who made no statement of religious faith. 

There are some twelve hospitals, asylums, and kindred 
' Also the Aztec sacrificial stone. 



200 MEXICO 

establishments for the afflicted, in the capital or Federal 
districts, as public charities, and eight of a private nature, 
including the benevolent societies and hospitals of the 
various foreign colonies, as the Americans, Spanish, and 
others. Among the semi-charitable or benevolent 
institutions must be mentioned the famous Monte de 
Piedad, or National Pawnshop, which, as its name implies, 
carries on the business of such for the benefit of poor 
people, who thus avoid the usurious rates of interest of 
private pawnbrokers. This worthy institution was founded 
in 1775, by Terreros, Count of Regla, of mining fame, 
and during a single month of 1907 the establishment 
and its branches loaned money to the people against 
articles to the amount of nearly half a million pesos. Of 
penal establishments the Penitentiary, opened in 1900, at 
a cost of about two and a half million pesos, ranks first. It 
has a strict scientific regime for its inmates, with more 
than seven hundred cells for convicts and others. 

Some of the public buildings are good types of 
structure of the colonial period. Among these is the 
Palacio Nacional, spacious and massive, but monotonous 
and plain in its outward appearance. Here the Govern- 
ment business is transacted, and this edifice occupies a 
whole side of the Zocalo, or Plaza de Armas, with a long 
arcade of the characteristic portales, or arches, facing the 
the square, above the footpath. It is of historic interest, 
having sheltered nearly all Mexican rulers from Monte- 
zuma onwards, Cortes, the viceroys, Iturbide, Maximilian, 
and all the Presidents in succession. The Palacio 
Municipal is a somewhat similar structure also facing the 
plaza, and not far away is the handsome building known 
as Mineria — the School of Mines — which was founded by 
royal edict in 1813. This building, unfortunately, has sub- 
sided somewhat into the soft subsoil. Within its spacious 
hall an enormous meteorite confronts the view, brought 
there from a distant part of the country, entire. The 
Geological Institute is another public building of kindred 
nature. The famous Castle of Chapultepec, embowered 
in its cypresses, and surrounded by its handsome park, is 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 201 

at a distance of two miles away along the Paseo de la 
Reforma, before described, and serves both as a summer 
residence for the President and as a military academy. 
Around it is a public park. Here it was that the heroic 
incident of the American War took place, of the young 
Mexican military cadets and the national standard, which 
has been touched upon in the historical chapter. A 
monument is erected here to their memory. A new post- 
office was opened in the capital, in 1907, at a cost of three 
million pesos, to cope with the growing postal business of 
the Republic. Among the numerous public squares and 
gardens of the city is the Alameda, dating from the time 
of Spanish rule. Six theatres of good class and other 
minor ones attest the play-going inclinations of the 
Mexicans, and a grand opera-house is in course of con- 
struction out of the national exchequer, which is designed 
to bear comparison with that of Paris. The Governments 
of Mexico, like those of Spanish-America generally, con- 
sider it a natural part of their function to support popular 
amusements of a refined nature. The foreigner might 
feel called on to remark that this laudable motive might 
well be brought to bear upon bull-fights, lotteries, and 
other institutions of a kindred nature I The chief evil of 
the bull-fight is that it keeps alive the love of the sight of 
bloodshed, which is naturally too strong in the Mexican 
peon without artificial stimulation, and its brutalising ten- 
dency must go far to offset the good effects of education 
and musical entertainment. As for the lotteries, they 
constitute a bad moral; the petty gambling and principle 
of hoping to obtain something for nothing is evil, and 
they are banned by all truly civilised nations. 

The chief club and sport centre of the wealthy Mexicans 
is the Jockey Club, in a handsome old building in the 
plaza of Guardiola, and it is considered a mark of distinc- 
tion by the foreigner to be invited as visiting member to 
this institution. The British and the American Colonies 
each have comfortable club-houses, the Spanish their 
casino, and the French and Germans their respective 
centres. 



202 MEXICO 

The Army of Mexico consists of some 28,000 officers 
and men, efficient and disciplined, on a footing far 
superior to the dilapidated soldiery that the traveller 
generally observes in, and ascribes to, Spanish-America. 
The rank and file have that remarkable power of per- 
forming long marches and heavy work on short rations, 
which characterises the Spanish-American native soldier 
in times of stress. Their officers receive an excellent 
training, and the military schools are considered to take 
high rank as such. Every citizen, by law, is obliged to 
serve in the army, but this is not necessarily carried out, 
and needless to say the upper class, except as officers, 
do not figure therein. A picturesque and remarkably 
efficient body of men are the rurales, exceedingly expert 
horsemen, who range the country, and whose work of 
the last few decades has entirely wiped out the prevalent 
highway-robbery of earlier years. Mexico's Navy is small : 
she does not require a large one, and it consists at present 
of two training ships, five gunboats, and two transports. 

The cost of living in the capital, like all other cities, 
varies much according to style, but in general it may be 
considered high. Even native produce is not cheap 
necessarily, whilst imported goods are very expensive. 
Correspondingly high is the rent of houses or flats. The 
houses of Mexico City are very generally constructed and 
let as viviendas, or flats, usually of about six rooms to 
each floor, a time-honoured arrangement among all 
classes. Such a flat, according to its position, costs from 
£S to ;;^i5 per month; and a private house, such as in 
England would rent at, say, ;^200 per annum, or, say,;^3oo 
in the United States, brings £^0 per month in Mexico 
City, whilst the rents in the suburbs, and those of 
business establishments are scarcely less. Such property 
is always expected to yield 12 to 15 per cent, per annum 
upon the investment. The values of landed property or 
real estate in the city have risen in an unprecedented 
manner of late years, from a few cents per square yard a 
few years ago to 30s. or 503. per square yard at present, 
and they are still rising. The cost of building is also 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 203 

exceedingly high. These conditions refer, of course, to 
the capital. Elsewhere values are often exceedingly low. 

The capital and the Federal District, which is that con- 
taining the city and its suburban towns, are administered 
by Ayuntamientos, or Municipal Councils, with Boards of 
Health and Department of Public Works. The city is 
policed by mounted and unmounted gendarmes, a total of 
some 2,300, and travellers may bear witness to the vigilance 
and courtesy of these officials. Whilst the ordinary gen- 
darmes are recruited from the Indian class largely, they are 
efficient. The British traveller finds them as obliging as 
London police, in their more humble sphere, and the 
American is startled at the possibilities of official courtesy 
after the rude and aggressive policemen of the United 
States. The water-supply of the city belongs to the Federal 
authorities, and is being augmented from the springs of 
Xochimilco, as the present amount per capita of 137 litres 
is not sufficient. The new works will ensure a per capita 
supply of 40Q litres, for a population of 550,000 inhabitants. 
The lighting of the city and suburbs is by electricity, and is 
efficiently performed, giving the capital the reputation of 
being an excellently illumined community. A Canadian 
Company, the Mexican Light and Power Company, holds 
the contract for this work. The drainage and sewerage 
of the capital form a fine modern sanitation system, 
which has recently been completed at a cost of nearly six 
million pesos; and these works, in connection with the 
great drainage canal and tunnel already described, form 
one of the most perfect systems in the world, and a point 
of interest to visitors. 

The system of electric tramways embodies more than 
100 miles of line, and gives an efficient urban service as well 
as furnishing communication with the suburbs and resi- 
dential towns, as Tacubaya, San Angel, Tlalpam, Guada- 
lupe, and others. There are still some 40 miles of mule-car 
in operation, such as a few years ago existed over the 
whole system. The mules were kept going at a gallop over 
these lines by the incessant thwacking and shouts of the 
drivers, and the modern system, if less picturesque, is 



204 MEXICO 

more humane and speedier. The Mexicans, both upper 
and lower class, are inveterate travellers — many of the 
latter simply journey on the cars for amusement — and, 
picturesque and ill-smelling, they crowd the third-class 
coaches on every journey. In the year 1907 a total of 
nearly 65 million passengers were carried. The enterprise 
is in the hands of Canadians — The Mexico Tramways 
Company, in connection with the Mexico Electric Tram- 
ways, Limited, a British corporation. The great plaza, the 
Zocalo, presents an animated scene with the numerous 
starting and stopping cars on their incessant journey ; 
and the figures of the saints upon the cathedral fagade 
gaze stonily down upon the electric flashes from the 
trolley line, whilst the native peon and Indian on the cars 
has not yet ceased wondering what power it is "that 
makes them go " I 

Life in the City of Mexico for the foreigner contains 
much of varied interest and colour, although he or she 
will have to support with philosophy much that is 
incident upon its peculiar character. The hotels often 
leave a good deal to be desired, yet they are sufficient 
for the transient visitor, and the more permanent resident 
prefers to take up his abode in a hired house. The 
former palace of Iturbide, a building of handsome 
architectural form, with a patio of noteworthy style, forms 
one of the principal hotels. It has been shown that the 
Republic contains a considerable foreign population, 
and in addition there is a constantly floating one, brought 
about largely by American tourists from the United 
States. The Americans and Spaniards are by far the 
most numerous among the foreign element, and Great 
Britain is represented mainly by the fine works of public 
utility constructed by British contractors, and by other 
railway and banking interests. British commercial 
enterprise in Mexico has almost entirely fallen away of 
recent years, and has been supplanted by American and 
German activity. Various reasons are assigned to this 
loss of a once paramount commercial pre-eminence ; 
possibly the real one lies in the diverting of British 



CITIES AND INSTITUTIONS 205 

enterprise to various parts of the British Empire, and 
also to a slackening of activity from the great centres of 
British industry as regards foreign lands, which seems to 
be apparent of recent years. Capital does not venture 
forth so easily as it did some decades ago, from the 
shores of Albion, due to a variety of causes. 

A noticeable feature of Mexican business life in the 
capital is what may be termed the Anglo-Saxon — or 
rather Anglo-American — invasion, for of Britons there 
are but few in comparison with the ubiquitous American 
from the United States ; and smart, capable-looking 
men from New York, or more generally from Chicago, or 
Kansas City, or St. Louis, or other great commercial 
centres of the middle west, have set up numerous offices 
and enterprises. They have brought a good deal of 
wealth into the country, in the form of capital invested 
in mines and railways, and Mexico has welcomed her 
primos, or cousins from the North, both for their gold 
and for their spirit of enterprise. The class of American 
business-man who goes to Mexico has much improved 
of late years ; and these hijos del Tio Samuel, " sons of 
Uncle Sam," as the Mexicans sometimes jocularly dub 
them, are more representative of their country than the 
doubtful element of a few years since. The junction of 
these two tides of humanity which roll together but 
never mingle — the Americans and the Mexicans — affords 
much matter for interesting observation. The American 
influence on Mexican civilisation is partly good, partly 
bad, but it cannot yet be considered more than a drop 
in the ocean of change in the deep-seated Spanish 
individuality of the Mexican people. 

To sum up a mental impression of Mexico City, there 
rise before us the old and the new on the threshold of 
change ; the antique, the quaint, and the refined, pressed 
close by the modern, the commercial, and the cheap : 
the hand of a haughty Castilian hidalgo-spirit held 
forth to the " cute " and business Yankee. But there is 
a great breach yet between the Chicago " drummer," or 
the American land-shark ; and the Mexican gentleman. 



206 MEXICO 

Here is a rich and developing soil, with — perhaps — some 
benefit for the masses : a new civilisation in the making ; 
a new people being fashioned from an old ; a plutocratic 
bulk trailing off into a mass of white and red-clothed poor 
peones and swarthy Indians. Beautiful women, serenaias, 
bull-fights, courtesy, azure sky — all have inscribed upon 
the traveller's mind a pleasing and semi-romantic im- 
pression, a conjunto, whose interest and attraction, with 
perchance a regretful note, time does not easily dispel. 



CHAPTER XI 

MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 

Travel and description — Mexican cities — Guad;ilaj:ira — Lake Chapala — 
Falls of Juanacatlan — The Pacific slope — Colima — Pucbla — Cities of 
the Great Plateau — Guanajuato — Chihuahua — The Apaches — The 
feoncs — Comparison with Americans — Peon labour system — Mode of 
living — Houses of the pcoii class — Diet — Tortillas and frijolcs — Chilli 
— Pulque — Habits of the peon class — Their religion — The wayside 
crosses and their tragedies— Ruthless political executions — The fallen 
cross — Similarity to Bible scenes — Peon superstitions — The ignis 
fatuis, or relacion — Caves and buried treasure — Prehistoric Mexican 
religion — The Teocallis — Comparison with modern religious systems 
— Philosophical considerations. 

The City of Mexico, typical as it is of Mexican people 
and their life, by no means embodies or monopolises the 
whole interest of the country, and the mere tourist who, 
having paid a flying visit thereto, thinks thereby to gain 
much idea of the nation as a whole, will naturally fall 
short in his observations. We must depart thence, and 
visit the other handsome and interesting centres of 
Mexico's Hfe and population, and sojourn for a season 
among her people, and observe something of the " short 
and simple annals" of her labouring classes. During 
the several years which it fell to my lot to pass in this 
interesting land the various phases of Spanish-American 
life as portrayed in Mexico were often brought vividly 
before me, and indeed it is only after arduous journey- 
ings in a land of this nature that pictures of its life and 
topography can be truly portrayed. 

The general type of Mexican cities has been set 
forth in the former chapter : their distinctive Spanish- 

'207 



208 MEXICO 

American character and atmosphere. The city next in 
importance to the capital is Guadalajara, in the State of 
Jalisco. This is a really handsome community, with 
fine public buildings ; and it forms a centre of Mexican 
civilisation and education of which its inhabitants are 
proud : not without sufficient reason. The people of 
Guadalajara love to term their city the "The Queen of 
the West," for the city lies upon the Pacific watershed, 
although the Western Sierra Madre intervenes between 
her and the great ocean. The population of Guadalajara 
numbers rather more than 101,000, and the city is 
famed for its public monuments and institutions, religious 
and secular. The elevation above sea-level of 5,175 feet 
insures an equable climate, tending to a spring-like 
warmth, yet of an exhilarating character, due to the 
breezes which sweep over the broad valley in which it is 
situated. The region around the city is one of varied 
topographical interest. To the south-east is the great 
Lake Chapala, eighty miles long — a sheet of water of 
marked scenic beauty — and from its broad bosom the 
Santiago river flows upon its two-hundred-mile journey 
to the Pacific, near Topic, of Toltec fame, but first 
forming the well-known falls of Juanacatlan. Surround- 
ing this region are great plains of wheat-growing capacities, 
and indeed this State has been termed the " Granary of 
Mexico." The railway carries us westwardly to Ameca, 
a picturesque town, and thence the saddle is our means 
of conveyance. Far down towards the Pacific coast, 
and southwardly, one of my journeys took me, over 
vast stretches of plains and among timber-clad hills : 
timber-clad, as the devouring wood-burning locomotive 
has not yet reached so far, and the stump-studded 
lands as along the railway are not encountered. Further 
on are the abrupt precipices of the Pacific slope, and 
above them rises the high volcano of Colima with its 
everlasting crest of smoke, breaking in leaden spirals 
against the sky by day, and illuminating the night scenery 
of haciendas and palm groves with its fitful flames. 
Colima is the only active Mexican volcano at present. 




CITY OF GUADALAJARA : INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL. 



[To /ace p. 2o3. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 209 

In quite a different direction is the city of Puebla, one 
of the foremost of the State capitals, lying within a short 
distance by rail from the City of Mexico. This city has 
acquired a considerable commercial and industrial im- 
portance of recent years, largely due to the local 
cotton-manufacturing industries and general flourishing 
agricultural resources. The city is not, however, spoilt 
by the manufacturing element as regards its character 
and appearance, and the cleanliness of its streets and 
general beauty and severity, in their various fields, of its 
church and domestic architecture charm the traveller, 
and elicit admiration from those who had expected a less 
advanced community. The cathedral is one of those 
handsome colonial structures for which Mexico is famous. 
The elevation of the city is slightly over 7,000 feet above 
sea-level, with a corresponding excellence of climatic 
conditions, whilst the general environment and azure 
tropic sky form a whole which remains pleasingly upon 
the memory. A busy population of more than 93,000 
people is supported in the city, mainly by the natural 
products and manufactures of its environment. Over- 
looked by the picturesque hills where the struggle for 
independence was raged in the historic years of last 
century, and sentinelled to the north-west by the two 
volcanic peaks of snow-crowned altitude, Popocatepetl 
and Ixtaccihuatl, the city of Puebla is of much interest. 

To the north, and of a somewhat different character 
as regards their environment and population, are the 
cities along the Great Plateau, especially those upon the 
mineral belt, although they bear the inseparable stamp of 
the Spanish-American people and their life. Some of 
these cities sprang to being upon the very flanks of the 
mountains which give them their source of life — silver — 
centuries ago. Among these great towns of the plateau, 
especially those whose wealth and population have 
accrued from or depend upon the business of delving 
into the earth for minerals, is Guanajuato, pictur- 
esquely situated among the foothills of a mountain range 
known as the Sierra of Santa Rosa. Its elevation above 

IS 



210 MEXICO 

sea-level is 6,850 feet, and the dry, clear atmosphere, bright 
hues of buildings and churches, sloping hills with houses 
and gardens perforce terraced thereon, with the brilliant 
sunlight overhead, form a characteristic Mexican centre 
of industry. The houses of Guanajuato are built of a 
species of freestone, which as a fine-grained tufa caps the 
Sierra in places here, and is known as cantera. It is 
easily worked and hardens on weathering, and its use 
gives a well-constructed appearance to the streets. I 
have noted the same aspect in other Spanish-American 
countries, notably the Peruvian city of Arequipa. Accord- 
ing to the calculation of Humboldt, the great veta madre, 
or "mother lode," of Guanajuato, had yielded, up to his 
time, silver to the value of fifty-eight million pounds 
sterling ; and, indeed, it is to be recollected that, a 
century ago, Guanajuato was a larger city than New 
York! 

Of Zacatecas, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Aguas 
Calientes, and others of the numerous important cities and 
towns, linked together by the great trunk lines of railway 
along the vast reaches of the mesa central, we cannot speak 
save by name. Each has its peculiar circumstance and 
interest, and the different States of which they form the 
political and industrial centres are described in the 
chapter devoted thereto. We will, however, take a 
momentary flight to the fine city of Chihuahua, far to the 
north, situated among its great plains and mineral-bearing 
miountain ranges. Among these vast deserts, now slowly 
yielding to reclamation by the hand of civilised man, 
scorched by a merciless sun by day and bitterly cold by 
night, which form this part of Mexico, the savage Apaches 
formerly roamed — the abominable Apaches : the cruellest 
and most treacherous race the world has ever known. 
Well might these savages have been hunted to the death 
by the invaders of the white race, both here and on the 
great American deserts north of the Rio Grande, and 
well might their scalpings and torturings form the theme 
for those adventurous novels which made our flesh creep 
as we perused them in boyhood's days ! Now the de- 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 211 

generate descendants of these once formidable Redskins 
seek a living in desultory cultivation of the soil, although 
bands of them and of other tribes still cause trouble to 
soldiery of the Mexican Republic at times. But the 
capital city of Chihuahua is an example of man rising 
superior to savagery and Nature, and this splendid centre 
of modern life and industry is far removed from the 
condition of its natural surroundings. It stands at an 
elevation of nearly 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
The climate is a healthy one, eminently suitable for the 
white race and its activities ; and the population of 30,000 
inhabitants forms the centre of a great growing region 
whose natural resources are manifold. Upon the river 
Conchos, and upon the Casas Grandes, affluents of the 
Rio Grande or Bravo, are some of the ruins which are 
amongst the oldest and most interesting of Mexico, 
from an arch^ological point of view. 

We have said that the Mexicans are an hospitable 
people, and this is eminently true of the upper class. 
As to the peoncs, they are, in the more remote districts, 
by no means of an untractable or surly character, although 
the lowest in the scale, and some of the Indian tribes, 
are excessively stupid and suspicious. The Mexicans of 
better class divide these people into genie de razon, or 
"rational" people, and gente intratable, or people with 
whom it is almost impossible to treat or to comprehend, 
rhese people vary much throughout the country, but as 
1 rule they are unaggressive and harmless. Whilst thiev- 
ing is generally ascribed as a strong vice of the Mexican 
ower class, this must not be rashly applied. The peon, 
Dr Indian, may take articles of small value which are left 
ibout, but he does not commit crime in order to rob ; 
ind the extraordinary outrages constantly perpetrated in 
the " Wild West " of the United States, in the shootings, 
' holding-up " of passenger trains, wrecking of express 
:ars by dynamite, bank robbery, and the like exploits of 
:he Anglo-American desperado, to steal, are unknown to 
:he temperament of the Spanish-American. The latter 
ire creatures of impulse, and lack the "nerve" for a 



212 MEXICO 

well-planned murderous exploit of the above nature. 
Nor are they capable of the lynching, burnings of 
negroes, and race riots which characterise those parts 
of the United States which bound Mexico on the 
north, and once formed part of her territory. If, how- 
ever, their crimes are smaller, so is their power of 
initiative, sustained effort, and the working for to-morrow 
characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-American 
peoples. Yet the police are much in evidence in 
Mexican travel. A gendarme with sabre and revolver 
accompanies every car on the trains which cross the 
great plateau. Indeed, in former years robbery with 
violence was the chief "incident" of travel in Mexico. 
Footpads and armed bandidos infested every highway 
and mountain road twenty years ago, and travel was 
impossible except with an armed escort. But this was 
before the work of President Diaz and his rurales. 
The conditions are now very different, and the traveller 
may journey almost anywhere, except in a few districts, 
without danger of molestation, with ordinary precautions 
such as the characteristic conditions of the country call 
for. In those places where the peones are distrustful of 
the white foreigners it is generally due to the influence of 
these, who have ingrained their own bad habits and vices 
upon them. A gentleman, if he holds the demeanour 
covered by the designation, ever carries respect in Mexico. 
Incidents of life and travel in remote regions, among 
the petty authorities and the hacendados, rancheros, and 
landowners generally, are full of colour and interest for 
the traveller. Our belongings are securely packed upon a 
couple of well-appointed mules ; we are astride passable 
Mexican horses, seated on comfortable saddles, with our 
servant and the arriero in attendance, and we have left the 
last of the city streets ; with our face to the open country 
the true charm of travel comes upon us — the touch of 
Nature, solitude, and the far horizon which nothing else 
can ever supply. Thus accoutred we shall hold real 
converse with Nature, and with the typical people of the 
land over which we pass. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 213 

Let us therefore turn our attention to the picturesque 
world of the great bulk of the Mexican population, the 
class which earns its daily bread by the sweat of its brow. 
These are the peones, and to their work is due the culti- 
vation of the ground, the working of the mines, and all 
the manual labour without which the industries of the 
country would be non-existent. The peon is not neces- 
sarily a forced labourer. Nevertheless, the conditions of 
his life are such that he is not a free agent as the working 
men of other countries are. His payment is largely 
received in goods which he is obliged to purchase in the 
general store of the hacienda, belonging to the proprietor, 
or by some one licensed thereby. This is a species of 
"truck" system. High prices and short weight — in 
accordance with the business principles underlying such 
systems — generally accompany these dealings. Moreover, 
as the peon has often been granted supplies in advance, 
against future wages, he is generally in debt to the store, 
a condition which, purposely, is not discouraged. The 
law does not support the system, but as the whole area of 
land surrounding the hacienda belongs thereto, the pro- 
prietor may or may not — generally the latter — permit the 
establishment of any independent shop in the vicinity. 
Indeed, such temerity on the part of any would-be 
merchant would soon call down punishment — if such it 
may be termed — from the myrmidons of the landowner, 
to whom the hunting of " contraband " vendors of goods 
or liquor is fair game. 

The house of the peon — the single-roomed adobe-built 
habitation, or the wattle-built jacal in which he dwells, 
belongs to the estate owner ; and if the dweller, through 
laziness or other similar cause, fails to put in an appear- 
ance in the fields, he is soon forced to vacate it, and, 
supposing him to be free from debt, to leave the hacienda. 
He toils all day in the fields, drawing a scanty wage, and 
retires at night to this primitive abode, which he shares 
with his female consort and her progeny. 

Yet it is not to be supposed that under this autocratic 
and patriarchal rule — for the regime in some respects has 



214 MEXICO 

an atmosphere of the pastoral scenes of the Old Testa- 
ment — the peones are oppressed or unhappy. Men who 
know no other state are contented with their lot, and the 
poor Mexican creates matters of pastime and enjoyment 
in his simple life. Bull-fights, horse-racing, cock-fighting, 
together with dancing and the consumption of liquor — 
the latter his serious and principal vice — furnish him with 
distraction, whilst religious feast-days make up the sum. 

This description applies mainly to the agricultural 
labourer. The miner stands somewhat apart as a class, 
pursuing his more arduous, yet possibly more indepen- 
dent, labour under the ground, and living in the clustered 
adobe huts upon the bare hillside in the vicinity of the 
mine-mouth. With his pick, bar, and dynamite he 
jovially enters his subterranean passage, where, generally 
working under some system of contract, his energies are 
spurred by the hope of profit depending upon his own 
efforts — ever a stimulus which the mere day-worker lacks. 

The system of contract work also obtains in some 
cases with the agricultural labourer, especially in the 
cultivation of sugar-cane, which is an important Mexican 
industry. Fields, with water for irrigation, are allotted 
to the responsible worker — Mexico is a country whose 
rainfall generally is insufficient for cultivation without 
irrigation — and this he cultivates, the hacienda lending 
seed and implements, and taking as payment a stated 
portion of the crop. 

So, if the people generally are poor, they are not dis- 
contented. Their wants are exceedingly simple and easily 
supplied. Furniture and other household chattels are not 
acquired nor required by the poorer class of peon. If he 
has no bedstead, the earthen floor serves the purpose, and 
here he and his family sleep, rolled together in their 
ponchos or blankets for warmth, with an utter disregard 
for ventilation, damp, or kindred matters. Indeed, if 
need be, the hardy peon will sleep out upon the open 
plain without feeling any particular discomfort. 

The interior menage of a Mexican hut is naturally 
primitive. The fireplace is often outside, and consists 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 215 

of unshaped stones, between which charcoal or firewood 
is ignited, and upon these the earthen pot, or olla, is 
balanced, containing whatever comestible the moment 
may have afforded, and whose contents we will proceed 
to investigate. If the fireplace is inside, there is often no 
chimney, and the habitation is smoky and dark, with only 
a hole in the roof for ventilation. En passant, it may be 
said that some of the methods of the poorer Mexican 
peones are not much in advance of those of our common 
ancestor — primeval man ! 

To observe now the contents of the olla. First it 
should be noted that earthenware vessels fulfil nearly 
all the purposes of the peones' culinary requirements. In 
these seemingly fragile articles the women bake, stew, 
boil, and fry in a fashion which would astonish the 
English or American housewife, accustomed to the use of 
iron utensils. The diet of the peon is largely vegetarian, 
and indeed he is a living example of the working force con- 
tained in cereals and leguminous plants. Meat is a scarce 
and expensive luxury which he is rarely able to obtain. 

Most important of all in this primitive menu is the 
tortilla ; and, indeed, this simple article of food is worthy 
of being blazoned upon the country's escutcheon ! for it 
may be said to be the basis of all labour here. The 
tortilla is simply an unsweetened pancake of maiz flour, 
patted out thin in the hands and baked, and its prepara- 
tion is the principal occupation of the women of the 
peones during the time their men are toiling in the fields. 
Let us watch a Mexican woman of the working class 
making her tortillas, probably sitting on the threshold of 
her habitation for purposes of light and neighbourly 
gossip. She has brought forth a grinding-stone or flat 
mortar known as a metate, for the purpose of grinding the 
inaiz — an article shaped out of a block of a special kind 
of volcanic stone, called rccitita, an implement inherited 
from Aztec times. The maiz has been boiled with a httle 
lime, and is somewhat softened, and she places handfuls 
of the grain upon the metate, adding water, and shortly 
reduces it to a stiff paste under the grinding of the upper 



216 MEXICO 

stone. The tortilla is then patted out into the form of 
a thin pancake and baked in an earthenware dish, or 
casuela. If it is to be our fortune to partake of this 
preparation — and if we have been travelling in a remote 
part of the country it may be so — it is advisable not to 
inquire too closely into the cleanliness of the operation, 
for the Mexican peon and his woman do not consider 
morning ablutions at all a necessary part of their toilette ! 
The supply of tortillas being finished, they are sufficient 
for the day's requirements, and take the place of bread, 
and, indeed, of plates, knives and forks, for the peones 
scoop up their food or put it upon these handy pancakes 
for depositing it in their mouths, and munch them with 
their frijoles with the utmost gusto. To re-heat the 
tortillas they are placed for a few moments upon the 
glowing embers of the fire, and with a roll of tortillas in 
his pocket the peon will undertake a day's work, or toil- 
some march, and ask little else. The tortilla, and, indeed, 
the consumption of maiz in this form, seems to be 
peculiar to Mexico. In Peru, Chile, or other Spanish- 
American countries it is unknown. 

Mention has been made of frijoles. There is more 
contained in that word — which we should translate as 
haricot beans, a small white variety — than might be 
supposed. Next to the tortilla it is the staple article of 
diet of a good many millions of Mexico's inhabitants. 
The preparation of the frijoles is simple. They are boiled 
in an earthen pot until they are cooked, and then fried in 
lard or other fat. They acquire a rich brown colour, 
and are appetising and wholesome. Even in the homes 
of the upper class frijoles are — or were — served as one 
of the courses, although there is a certain tendency to 
despise this as a national or Indian dish — a little weak- 
ness of advancing civilisation ! But beans cooked in the 
Mexican way might well be adapted in English house- 
holds, whether for reasons of novelty or economy. In 
the United States they are used in the form of " Boston 
baked pork and beans," but are considered a delicacy 
rather than an article of ordinary diet. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 217 

The next important item on the Mexican peones' bill of 
fare is Chile. This is the chilli ; the pepper-pods of that 
name, a species of capsicum ; the guinea-pepper. The 
pods are eaten either green, which is their unripe condi- 
tion, or ripe or sun-dried, when they acquire a scarlet 
colour. In the first state they are only slightly piquant 
and are consumed largely, cooked with cheese or pork, 
which latter favourite dish is known as Chile con came. 
When red they are exceedingly piquant, but are largely 
consumed with the frijoles and tortillas. They might 
certainly form a useful article of diet in England or the 
United States, where they are practically unknown, except 
in the form of chilli pepper. 

Potatoes come next in the diet of the peones. The 
Mexican potato, however, seems often to be small and 
of inferior quality, and probably the soil and climate are 
not favourable to its production. Camotes and sweet 
potatoes, however, are excellent. 

The national beverage of the Mexican is the well- 
known pulque, a fermented and intoxicating drink made 
from the maguey, and elsewhere described. Coffee is 
much esteemed by the peones, and purchased when 
circumstances will allow, and tea also, although in lesser 
degree. Milk and butter are scarce, and rarely used by 
the peones, but cheese made from goats' milk is a favourite 
article of diet. Meat is often used — when obtainable — 
dried, in strips, generally of beef. Mutton, or came de 
borrego is consumed to some extent, and goats' flesh 
more frequently. The Mexican peon is not necessarily 
particular as to the quality of this meat. If a cow or 
bullock perishes upon the plain from drought or accident, 
the villagers soon get wind of the fact and the carcase is 
cut up and appropriated in short order. Indeed, the 
flesh of horses is not despised at times ! And, as may 
be supposed, there are no troublesome municipal restric- 
tions or health officers in such places to interpose 
authority against the practice, and the struggle for life, 
especially upon the great plateau, is keen. 

Of course, as we rise in the social scale a large variety 



218 MEXICO 

of foods are consumed, of excellent quality and unstinted 
quantity, such as we have described in speaking of the 
upper class. Even here, however, a Mexican " Mrs. 
Beeton " would have to describe a number of novel and 
appetising dishes of national character, and peculiar to 
the country. 

The peon, like his superior the educated and wealthy 
Mexican, is excessively fond of tobacco. His cigarette 
is his great solace and enjoyment. No manufactured 
and papered article is the peones' cigarette. The dried 
husk of the maiz is taken and cut into pieces of the 
required size. Into this he sprinkles a small portion of 
strong tobacco and rolling it into a thin roll in a certain 
dexterous way, smokes it without necessity of gumming 
or fastening the edge. These cigarettes have a distinctive 
and agreeable taste and aroma, and the foreigner who 
has grown accustomed to them will certainly find 
nothing superior in the machine-made cigarettes of the 
United States or Great Britain — especially the former. 
The upper-class Mexican does not use these cigarettes of 
hoja de maiz, or maiz husk, but unceasingly smokes either 
the imported Havannas, or the Mexican paper-covered 
varieties, which are generally excellent. 

The peon does not generally use matches to light his 
cigarette. He produces an eslabon, or small steel link, 
which he strikes upon his piece of flint, deftly dropping 
a spark upon his rag tinder, and so creates the means 
of ignition. Matches cost money — why spend un- 
necessarily ? Or, seated at the camp-fire, he takes a 
glowing wood ember for the purpose, and indeed the 
traveller finds that this method of lighting a husk 
cigarette imparts a peculiar flavour or sense of satisfac- 
tion, unknown before. The peon who accoinpanied 
me on my expeditions picked up the cartridge cases, 
especially the brass ones, which I had ejected from the 
rifle, or carabina, after firing at bird or animal, and pre- 
served them carefully. What for ? " It forms an excellent 
tinder-box," he replied, asking permission to retain it. 

The Mexican peon, like the Cholo of Peru, has become 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 219 

deeply imbued with the Roman Catholic reHgion, as 
expounded by the priests of Spanish-America. His was 
a nature to which the reahstic ceremony and outward 
show of this system strongly appealed, and the supersti- 
tion which in Spanish-America is an inseparable adjunct 
of this religion among the poorer class — and indeed to a 
certain extent among the upper — is at times scarcely dis- 
tinguishable therefrom. To speak first of the religion. 
This manifests itself in their excessive reverence displayed 
towards the priests, the adoration of saints, and the 
naming of objects and places after these, and in the 
devout method of expression employed even in their 
ordinary tasks. Shrines and crosses are found every- 
where — upon inaccessible hill-tops and in the depths of 
mines. As we ride along the dusty road our eyes rest 
suddenly upon a cross set by the way-side, apparently 
without any explanation of its presence at that spot. We 
turn to our mozo, or servant, who himself is only a more 
or less intelligent peon, and ask him the reason. " Sefior," 
he will make reply, " may God preserve you : a highway- 
man — un bandido — was overtaken and shot here some 
years ago," or some kindred explanation wherein death has 
befallen some one by the wayside, whether by accident or 
punishment. There is much that is attractive and good 
about this religious sentiment — far be it from the philo- 
sophical observer to scoff thereat. 

Yet the frequent occurrences of these crosses along 
the mountain-roads are terribly indicative of past dis- 
orders, and of private and political revenge, and even 
murder. Inquiry reveals that highway robbery and 
assassination, private feuds, love, drunken quarrels, and 
— frequent as any — pronnnciamientos and revolutions are 
responsible for the deeds of bloodshed upon the spots 
where the emblem of Christian love and brotherhood is 
raised up. A certain lonely hill, which it was my fortune 
to pass on one occasion, was marked by three decaying 
crosses set among the stones and thorns at its base. I 
inquired the reason of their presence there from my 
servant, a faithful old peon who was a native of the 



220 MEXICO 

vicinity. "Ah, senor," he replied, crossing himself 
devoutly as we drew rein and gazed upon the melancholy 
spot, "three cahalleros died here — pasado por las armas^ 
— twenty years ago." " For what reason ? " I inquired. 
" That no one has ever known," he answered. " They 
were roused from their sleep in yonder town " — pointing 
to the white cluster of buildings and trees on the far-off 
horizon which we had that morning left — "taken by a 
file of soldiers under arrest, with orders — it was said — to 
conduct them to the capital." " Well ? " I said as he 
paused ; and the old fellow looked round as if fearful 
that rocks and cactuses had ears and might report his 
utterances to some jefe politico, and continued, " A volley 
was heard, and the officers afterwards reported that the 
prisoners had attempted to escape and had been shot 
down." Drawing closer to me he added, " But, seiior, it 
was not true. My brother happened to be on this very 
hill and saw it, and the prisoners had been stood up in a 
line and shot" 

I did not feel called upon to doubt the old fellow's 
words. Probably the three cahalleros had been implicated 
in some political plot, and the Federal Government had 
— as was common in Mexico a few years ago — disposed 
of them by this swift and ruthless method. The pretext 
of " endeavouring to escape " was often a convenient one 
to hide the summary execution both of political suspects 
and criminals in the turbulent days of Mexico's recent 
history, and indeed has not altogether disappeared yet ! 
Pasado por las armas was a common penalty, and is a 
somewhat poetic nomenclature for that form of execution 
which the soldier prefers. 

Absorbed in such reflections, I rode on for some dis- 
tance through the rocky defiles and over the alternating 
plains — absolutely sterile and verdureless — which some 
parts of the great mesa central present. On the summit 
of a small eminence I beheld yet another cross — a large 
wooden structure, which, however, had fallen from its 
base of loose rocks and lay upon the ground. Old Jose, 
' That is to say, shot. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 221 

my servant, was some distance behind assisting the 
mule-driver with my baggage with a refractory mule, 
and there was no one to say why the cross had been 
erected. The dusk was rapidly falling and we had yet some 
leagues to my objective-point. But there was something 
pathetic about the lone, fallen cross, and I felt loath to 
pass and leave it there, prone. Dismounting, I looped 
the long bridle over a projecting rock, and, ascending 
the eminence, took hold of the fallen cross, exerting my 
strength to raise it. It was large and heavy, and the 
footing on the slippery rock made it difficult, but at 
length I managed to lift it up and put it in position, 
piling heavy stones round its base to keep it there. 
Engaged in this self-imposed task, I did not observe that 
my horse — a spirited animal I had bought some months 
before — had freed its bridle from the rock below, and 
when I looked round it was just breaking into a gentle trot 
away across the desert ! At this juncture old Jos6 rode 
up with the mule-driver and took in the situation, and I 
directed the latter individual to tie up his pack-mule and 
pursue my horse at all speed. " This cross," said Jose, 
in response to my questions, " was placed here when I 
was a boy," and he recounted how it had been erected 
in memory of an old Spaniard, a rich landowner of that 
region, who had been murdered there by the lover of 
his wife ; she a beautiful young Mexican woman. The 
details of the history are too long to record here, but 
according to the legend current among the people, which 
Jos6 recounted, the spirit of the penitent wife visited the 
cross at evening, and hung a phantom wreath of white 
flowers upon it. " But," added the old peon, whose dic- 
tion and ideas, notwithstanding his superstition, were 
superior to his kind generally, "the cross has never fallen 
before, and when from afar I saw the senor lifting it 
up I was astonished. But it is a blessed act, and no evil 
can now befall the senor ! " 

Inquiring what he meant by this, I learned that, in the 
opinion of the natives of some regions, the raising up of 
a fallen cross secures immunity from danger for him 



222 MEXICO 

who has performed it for a season afterwards ! This 
belief of old Jose's seemed put to the test, in his view, 
for half an hour afterwards, on crossing a steep-sided 
ravine, my horse slipped and fell, and carried me 
down the almost vertical cliff face for 50 feet or more. 
The sand and stones poured down in an avalanche, but 
I kept my horse's head up, and we landed on the sandy 
bottom below, unscratched, in a normal position ! "The 
sefior has been saved because of the cross ! " Jose and 
the arriero both averred, after congratulating me upon 
the almost miraculous escape from injury. 

But the cross set up in Mexico means many things, 
and is always in evidence among the lower orders. 
Here is a little path winding away among the rocks, 
pressed flat by the bare feet of generations of Indian 
women. Let us follow it. It leads to a feeble spring 
of clear water, which flows from the bare hillside into a 
scooped-out rock basin, and close beside it is a rude 
wooden cross, adorned with fading flowers. Perhaps we 
have met on the path a damsel with peasant dress and 
bare brown feet, who passes us with downcast eyes, 
bearing upon her shoulder a huge earthenware olla of 
water of quaint form — a figure such as in the land and 
time of Jacob and Rachel might have graced the sterile 
landscape. The cross has been placed there as a mark 
of gratitude for the existence of this frail water supply. 
Indeed, in these Spanish-American countries — as Mexico, 
Peru, and others — the conditions and atmosphere of every- 
day life often remind us of the scenes and colour of 
the Bible narratives. The absence of the conditions of 
modern life — railways, factories, the scramble for com- 
mercial wealth — induce this. The quaint and primitive 
methods of travel, the long distances, the sterile land- 
scape, and the simple dress and pastoral life of the 
people, all contribute to this environment. Amid the 
haze of some long, shimmering road as we ride along 
a figure approaches. We do not see him ; we " behold 
him while he is yet afar off," and if he happens to be a 
native friend he does not greet us with a handshake, 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 223 

but "falls upon our neck." Here in these wilds what 
typical places there are where the traveller might " fall 
among thieves" in some rocky defile or on the desert's 
edge ! Here men are close to nature. They are uncon- 
sciously tinged and imbued with its picturesque and 
chequered incident, as was the great singer of Israel. 
Nature is ever present in Mexico, and man's struggle 
with her is his daily task. The wilderness is ever before 
his eyes, and circumstances often compel him to fast 
there in the wilderness, whose broad, arid bosom does 
but accentuate the valleys which intersect it, flowing 
veritably with milk and honey, and which we ofttimes 
behold from some Pisgah's mountain of the rocky 
Sierra. The "patriarchal" condition of life, moreover, 
as regards family life, "handmaidens" and natural sons, 
are reminiscent of Biblical story. Nature will not admit 
too rigid regulations against increase of population in 
Mexico : Hagar and Ishmael dwell in every hamlet ! 

Just as the religion of the Mexican peon causes him to 
people his daily surroundings with the presence of the 
saints, so does his superstitious mind assign super- 
natural causes to things not easily explained, and bid 
him see evil spirits and hobgoblins in strange or unfre- 
quented places. Naturally, much of this superstition 
has come down with the traditions of his Aztec for- 
bears, whose polytheistic religion set up many imaginary 
gods and spirits. The devil and his attendant hobgoblins 
are active people in this people's minds. But — happy 
tribute to the strength of Christianity ! — the sign of the 
cross is potent to banish imaginary fiends on all ordinary 
occasions. 

But the peon loves not to journey alone at night, nor 
to enter dark caves and grottoes where the bones and 
mummies of dead men are found. Peculiar superstition 
attaches to the vicinity of buried treasure. Enter into 
conversation with your tnozo, or other of the peones, in 
their hours of relaxation, and they will impart strange 
stories of apparitions drawn from their own or some 
acquaintance's experience, and — for they are given to 



224 MEXICO 

romancing — partly from their imagination. As to buried 
treasure, it is supposed that this is always guarded by 
a spirit, sometimes good, sometimes evil, and generally 
that some evil will befall those who meddle with it. In 
the immediate vicinity of concealed treasure at night, 
upon the plain, the peones say that a mysterious light is 
seen hovering over the spot, especially when damp and 
misty. This light they term a relacion ; and although 
they dare not approach it, it serves as a guide to mark 
the place, which they proceed to dig over when daylight 
comes — although in some cases they dare not do so, fear- 
ing that an evil spirit will draw them in — in the hope 
of enriching themselves with treasure trove. The same 
light is said by the Mexican miners to " burn " over 
the place where a lode of rich metallic ore exists undis- 
covered, or even within the workings of a mine, 
sometimes, when a body of rich ore has escaped 
attention. 

The truth or falsity of these stories of the peones I 
must leave to the inclination of the reader. On one 
occasion I observed a phenomenon of this nature, 
however. It was a damp, misty night, and I was 
sitting in my tent after a long day's examination of 
the hills. " Seiior," suddenly exclaimed one of my 
men, entering the tent, " there is a relacion burning 
on the plain by the point of the hill ! " I started up, 
willing to observe whatever might be visible, or have 
the satisfaction of showing them what tontos they were. 
They conducted me round the spur of the hill close at 
hand. The sky was dark and frowning, and an eerie feel- 
ing took possession — at least of the two peones ! 

" There ! " they exclaimed, and following the direction 
indicated I observed a pale fluctuating flame or light a 
few hundred feet distant. I began to advance towards 
it, but the fearful peones strove to detain me. " No," 
seiior," they urged ; " it is a spirit ; do not approach." 
But disregarding this admonition, I began to walk 
towards the spot, telling them to follow, which, how- 
ever, they would not do. In unknown situations in 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 225 

wild countries a revolver gives a certain sense of 
security, and drawing mine I approached the mys- 
terious light, which went and came intermittently. I 
knew it must be an ignis fatuus. As I reached the 
place it disappeared ; my feet suddenly sank in marshy 
ground, and a heavy mist-cloud enveloped the place, so 
that I could see absolutely nothing. I confess I felt a 
species of "gooseflesh" creeping over me. But my feet 
were sinking deeper in the bog, and more by good luck 
than anything else I floundered out and regained the rock, 
and, directed by the shouts of the peones, made my way 
through the dense mist to the tent. I heard some time 
afterwards that excavations had been made at the spot in 
the hope of finding treasure, but could not learn the 
result. 

Ancient caves in different parts of Mexico often con- 
tain the skulls and bones of former inhabitants, whether 
prehistoric or of later times, sometimes containing finely 
fashioned flint implements. The natives, as a rule, fear 
to go into these places. " Do not enter, senor," they 
will say, as, with Anglo-Saxon lack of superstition, you 
determine to explore them ; " some evil befalls those 
who meddle with the remains of the dead." And if 
they are prevailed upon to assist they cross themselves 
devoutly before descending or entering. Weird tales 
they unfold afterwards of men who have gone into 
such places and found their exit barred by some evil 
spirit, they themselves having been encountered dead 
and cold upon the cavern floor when discovered by 
their relatives, who had searched for the missing one ! 
According to the peones, the scenes of murder or wicked- 
ness which may have taken place in such situations are 
enacted again to the terrified vision of the unhappy 
witness who had the temerity to venture into these 
places possessed of the devil, for the King of Darkness 
is an ever-present and active element of the poor 
Mexican's superstitious world. 

As to buried treasure, it is a favourite subject of the 
peon for conversation. Quantities of silver money and 

i6 



226 MEXICO 

other articles are frequently found concealed throughout 
the country, where they were often placed for safety in 
the turbulent times of former history. At the time 
of the dispossession of the clergy it is probable that a 
good deal of concealment of this nature was made, 
whether in lonely places in the hills or plains, or in the 
floors and walls of convents and houses. 

It was with considerable difficulty that I persuaded my 
peones on one occasion to assist me in the examination 
of a cave which was said to contain the remains of the 
dead. The cave had a corkscrew-like opening from 
the surface of the hill, a barren limestone hog-back in 
the State of Durango. It descended spirally for some 
30 feet or more, as I found when my men lowered 
me down with a rope, at my command. When my feet 
touched bottom I lighted the candle, which had been put 
out in the descent, and looked around. The place was 
of small extent — little more than a pit — and it seemed 
to be a natural cavity, with nothing remarkable about 
it. But I turned my attention to the floor, which felt 
curiously soft and greasy to the touch. It was strewn 
with pieces of human bones and skulls ! The gruesome 
place weighed rather upon me, I confess, silent and 
stifling as it was, but having come to explore I pro- 
ceeded to excavate lightly in the yielding material of 
the floor with a light pick. The singular nature of this 
material aroused my attention, and well it might, for 
I afterwards learned that there was a legend to the 
effect that the pit had been the scene of a massacre, 
and that numbers of persons alive and dead, had been 
thrown into it, and the soft material was the decayed 
human remains ! When this had taken place no one 
knew, but it must have been at a very remote or pre- 
historic period, for during my digging in the floor I 
unearthed a flint spearhead, beautifully chipped and 
fashioned, lying by a skull it had cloven. The spear- 
head, or blade, is some 6 inches in length and 4 inches 
in width, about a quarter of an inch thick, and I still 
preserve it. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 227 

So, as we have seen, religion and superstition are much 
combined in the mind of the Mexicans, the result of both 
ancient and modern creeds. As to the antique beliefs 
and cult, there is much that appeals to the philosopher 
in the religious structures and history of the prehistoric, 
semi-civilised peoples of Mexico, or indeed of Spanish- 
America, whether North or South. The pyramids and 
temples, which the Toltecs and the Aztecs and the Incas 
built, have something grand and broad underlying their 
main idea, the idea of being able to get on their temples 
rather than in them. There is ever a source of inspira- 
tion in being upon the point of an eminence, to com- 
mune with Providence, rather than being immured 
within some gloomy walls, with toppling spires over- 
head. The spirit ever tries to get out, to ascend, and 
is exalted in accordance with its altitude. Did not 
Moses at Sinai bring forth the enduring Decalogue 
from the summit of a great natural pyramid, rather 
than from the gloomy interior of a temple ? The 
exceedingly numerous pyramids throughout ancient 
Mexico seem to attest some exalted idea of a natural 
religion, which found outlet and habitation in the great 
Teocallis. 

Man, semi-civilised or modern, ever strives to com- 
mune with a God, an unseen Being. Is it not nobler 
and more inspiring to gaze towards the setting sun with 
solitude around us ? An environment of Nature, the 
nearest approach to the " unknown God " which exists, 
subtly attracts us as the handiwork of a power un- 
known. Well may the altar lights and emblems, and the 
oppressive enclosure of temples, be more and more 
rejected by the thinking mind, as the dark ages of 
religion leave us and true reverential knowledge un- 
folds. We might almost be tempted to say that the 
cathedrals of Mexico are not a philosophical exchange 
for its Teocallis, nor that the stake and axe of the Inqui- 
sition were much advance upon the sacrificial stone of 
the Aztec war-god ! The frenzied priest who cut open 
the breast of the human sacrificial victim with an 



228 MEXICO 

obsidian knife, and tore out the palpitating heart to 
cast it before his fanciful gods, does not present a pic- 
ture of such refined cruelty as that of civilised European 
man, the Inquisitors in long black cloaks, calmly sitting 
by whilst their victims were slowly roasted to death 
at the stake because they would not change their 
faith, or for other equally reasonless cause. There 
is, and ever will be, something peculiarly sinister and 
abominable about the recollection of the Inquisition 
and its operations, under the sky of the New World. 
And to the philosophical observer, who pins his thoughts 
to no mere creed of whatever designation, the fact 
seems palpable that the sinister authority which did 
those things is only slumbering, and did not civilisa- 
tion and antagonism restrain it those scenes would be 
repeated. The germs of an Inquisition exist in almost 
every religious organisation, but the old original one 
would burn its victims again if it could ! 

As to the Teocallis, perhaps their form was suggested 
by the natural pyramidal hills of the mountain landscape, 
whereon men must have stood to watch the sunset and 
feel nearer heaven, even in those savage lands. Even to- 
day this hill-ascending influence is not banished among 
the primitive class of the Mexican people. Every hill in 
the neighbourhood of a hamlet is surmounted by a cross, 
up to which culminating point processions constantly 
ascend. Indeed, at times the devout — or fanatic — Indian 
and peon ascends these rocky steeps upon his knees, 
leaving blood-spots to mark his way ! Processions of 
fanatic Indians were formerly common ; they journeyed 
over great distances upon their knees towards some 
popular shrine, and although the law now prohibits 
these, they are surreptitiously carried out at times, and 
I have witnessed them myself. Onwards and upwards 
towards the " Unknown God " these poor people grope 
their way — 

"Upon the great world's altar stairs." 

Can we say much more of the most civilised among us ? 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 229 

Much of beauty and interest there is in a study of both 
the old and new religions of this land ; much of the 
romance of the former we may feel, as, standing on the 
pyramid whence the rays of the orb of day were flashed 
back from the golden breastplate of Tonatiah in days of 
yore, we mark the sun-god of the Aztecs sink in the 
Occident. 



CHAPTER XII 

MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL {continued) 

Anthropogeographical conditions— The Great Plateau— The tropical belt 
— Primitive villages — Incidents of travel on the plateau — Lack of water 
— Hydrographic conditions — Venomous vermin — Travel by roads and 
diligencias — A journey vs^ith a priest — Courtesy of the peon class — 
The curse of alcohol — The dress of the working classes — The women 
of the peon class — Dexterity of the natives — The bull-fights — A narrow 
escape — Mexican horse equipment — The vaquero and the lasso — 
Native sports — A challenge to a duel — Foreigners in Mexico — Unex- 
plored Guerrero — Sporting conditions — Camp life — A day's hunting. 

The picturesque incidents of life and travel in Mexico 
vary much according to the particular part of the 
country we may be sojourning in or passing through. 
Civilisation has advanced more upon the great plateau, 
threaded by numerous railway systems, than in the less 
accessible regions of the Pacific and Atlantic slopes. 
Mexican national life has not developed much upon the 
littoral. A harbourless and riverless country, aboriginal 
civilisation made little use of its coasts, and the same 
natural conditions have existed until to-day, although 
now, at great cost, harbours are being created and trans- 
verse railway lines being built. 

Yet upon the great plateau, which, indeed, embodies 
a large part of Mexico, life is harder — at any rate for the 
labouring classes — than in the tropical regions bordering 
upon the Pacific and Atlantic slopes, and of that equally 
or more tropical region to the south of the Sierra Madres. 
Scantily clad, the peon suffers from the brusque change 
from torrid day to bitterly cold night which the climate 

230 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 231 

of the great tableland produces. The ground is gener- 
ally sterile by nature — as elsewhere described — and all 
produce is grown under irrigation. In many parts of the 
region water is scarce, or is employed for the irrigation 
of highly remunerative crops, such as cotton, leaving a 
minimum for the growing of food products. In this arid 
region natural pasture is scarce, with a consequent dearth 
of cattle and their produce, whilst cereals, fruits, and 
vegetables are far from plentiful. Consequently the 
peon has but a small choice of comestibles. 

In the more tropical belt, however, the vegetation is 
profuse, and fruits, cereals, and any product of the 
vegetable world grows almost spontaneously, or with a 
minimum of care. Bananas, oranges, sweet potatoes, 
sugar-cane, and a variety of eatables — all easily acquired 
— increase his range of food products, even if they do 
not augment his working powers. 

Not all the peon inhabitants of Mexico are necessarily 
attached to the large estates. Upon the great tableland 
the traveller, as he pursues his sun-beat and dusty road, 
will constantly come upon small hamlets and even single 
dwellings, set near the base of some hill or in the broken 
ground of a ravine, or arroyo, where perchance a feeble 
stream or spring provides the inhabitants with the means 
of satisfying their thirst. Failing that a dammed-up 
pond may form the only supply of water. 

These places are generally of the most primitive and 
miserable character. Often, were it not for the sterile 
nature of the land and the lack of water they would not 
be in the possession of the people at all, but would long 
ago have been taken by the nearest hacienda. Indeed, 
possibly they may be upon the territory claimed by such, 
but of too insignili'^ant a nature to be disturbed. Let 
us survey briefly these poor dwellers on Nature's waste 
places. We have ridden for hours under the sun and 
wind ; our faces are scorched and our lips are cracked. 
"Is there no sombra where we can eat our lunch and take 
a siesta f" I ask of my servant, who is acting in the 
double capacity of niozo and guide. He shakes his head 



232 MEXICO 

doubtfully. " Quien sabe, senor," he replies, but recol- 
lects a publecito, a little farther on, where we may obtain 
shade. We ride on. Oh for a drink from some crystal 
stream ! The water in the bottle is lukewarm ; it is not 
a bottle, but a gourd, such as in Mexico are fashioned 
from the wild calabazas for this purpose, stoppered with 
maize-cob freed from the grain, and it preserves the 
water fairly fresh. 

The vociferous barking of a legion of dogs announces 
our approach, for however poor the inhabitants of these 
places may be the bands of mongrel curs which they 
keep seem to find means of living. We approach the 
huts, our horses kicking and snorting at the attacks of 
the dogs. A few of the houses are built of the usual 
adobe bricks ; the major portion — there may be a dozen 
or so — are simply jacales, as the Mexican wattle-hut is 
teimed. Dirt, rags, and evil odours surround the place, 
for primitive man is a filthy being, and defiles the 
environs of his habitation for a considerable area around 
him. My visions of the crystal stream vanish. Close at 
hand is a foul pond of waters collected from the last 
rainstorm, wherein a lean-backed hog wallows, and we 
learn that this is the villagers' water supply ! Naked 
children of both sexes run about under our horses' legs, 
and supplicate me for a centavito. A horse, or at least the 
framework of a horse — for the animal is attenuated beyond 
description — stands tethered under the shade of a rude 
roof of boughs and whinnies feebly to our sturdy mounts. 

"There is no water, senor," the old crone, who has 
emerged from one of the huts, replies. " God has sent 
us no rain for many days, but if the seiior would like 
some pulque — " I close with the suggestion and in- 
struct the mozo to try it, to see if, in his experienced 
judgment, it is good. This he does, nothing loath, and 
pronounces it fresh. Pulque is a refreshing and not 
unwholesome drink. It is not a spirit, although in 
quantities it is intoxicating. Its manufacture is unknown 
outside Mexico, and in Peru the chicha, or maiz beer of 
the natives, takes its place. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 233 

I quaff a gourd of the liquid ; custom has rendered 
it not unpleasant to the palate, and its singular odour 
I disregard. And in the cool shade of the interior of 
the most respectable of the adobe huts we rest awhile 
until the sun's fiery disc has descended somewhat from 
the zenith. Then I distribute some small largesse to 
the woman and her numerous progeny, for am I not 
an ingles, of that famous race whose pockets are ever 
lined with silver and who are known even throughout 
these remote regions ? 

How do these people live ? The only vegetation at 
hand is some gaunt nopales or prickly pear cactus, form- 
ing a protective hedge around the settlement, and a few 
other specimens, all armed with spines and prickles after 
the fashion of Nature's handiwork in arid regions. Truly, 
these outcasts must gather " grapes of thorns and figs of 
thistles" if they reap anything here ! But probably at 
the head of the arroyo there is a little tilled patch of 
maiz and alfalfa, such as supply the inevitable tortilla 
for the denizens of the place, d,nd fodder — and thereby 
some small revenue, as in our own case — for the beasts 
of passing travellers. 

But this region is not always dry. At certain seasons 
heavy rainstorms occur, and a veritable deluge descends 
upon the cracked ground and fills the dry river-beds and 
array OS with a turgid flood. In some situations, as, for 
example, on the river Nazas, a wave of water comes 
down, covering lo or 15 feet deep and 500 feet wide 
in an irresistible flood what a few moments before was 
a parched and sandy bottom. In the great gullies of 
the plains similar conditions occur, and woebetide the 
unfortunate horseman or foot passenger who may be 
journeying along them at the moment ! These sudden 
freshets are a remarkable feature of the hydrography of 
the great plateau, and have been more fully described 
in another chapter. 

Such a storm we shall have encountered in our expe- 
ditions. The rain comes down in torrents, and the 
lightning flashes and the thunder reverberates among 



234 MEXICO 

the rocks and canyons ; for we have approached a 

mountain spur, perhaps, in our examination of its 
mineral resources. 

The peon in such situations, if there be no shelter at 
hand, not infrequently, when alone or only with his 
companions, takes off his clothing and places it in some 
sheltered rock-crevice, where it keeps dry, until the 
storm has passed, he himself remaining nude and un- 
concerned amid the downpour. A mouthful of mezcal, 
or fiery native spirit, will ward off a chill. 

At night we have sought the hospitality of the owner 
of some adobe hut. He has done his best for me, but 
sleeping on the floor is ever trying, and the pack-mule 
with my baggage and camp-bed has tarried on the road. 
A rainstorm in this region has the effect of bringing 
out the noxious vermin from the soil, where they have 
lain during the heat. Among the most uncomfortable 
of these are the alacran, or scorpion, and the centipede, 
both of which reptiles are found freely upon the walls 
and -oofs of the adobe dwellings. For my peace of 
mind we have carefully examined the interior, with a 
candle, before turning in, and the mozo, with a piece of 
firewood, has smashed the offending centipedes, of which 
there were a number. Both the scorpion and centipede 
have a venomous sting, the former sometimes fatal. As 
to the peones, they display small concern at the presence 
of these vermin. " God willing we shall not be stung," 
they say, and, rolling themselves in their ponchos on the 
bare floor in a corner of the habitation, they are soon 
asleep. But sleep does not visit me so easily. An un- 
comfortable impression remains, which has not been 
lessened by the casual remark of the owner of the hut 
regarding the habits of the scorpions. " Very knowing 
creatures, sefior," he says, as he obsequiously helps to 
arrange my couch in the middle of the floor — a position 
chosen by myself — "they have a habit of dropping 
from the roof on to a person sleeping beneath" ! 

Mexico, unlike other Cordilleran countries, lends itself 
to travel in certain directions by means of roads and 




LIFE AND TRAVEL IX MEXICO : MULES, PEOX, AND CACTUS. 

[To face p. 235. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 235 

vehicles. The diligencias which give communication 
from remote places to the wayside stations of the rail- 
ways, where the nature of the topography admits of 
roads for wheeled vehicles, are canvas-topped carriages 
drawn by half a dozen mules. Over the dusty plains of 
the tableland and through the rugged scenery of hill- 
passes these somewhat crazy vehicles perform their 
journeys, starting often before sunrise and arriving 
after sunset in order to accomplish their toilsome tra- 
jectory. Jolting over the ruts and arroyos of the scarcely- 
tended " roads " — if by courtesy they may be termed such 
— and baked by the sun blazing upon the carriage-hood, 
the traveller would often prefer to exchange his uncom- 
fortable seat for that of the saddle. Often a more 
agreeable method is by alternating these methods. 

I journeyed, on one occasion, with a padre, or village 
priest ; not, however, in a public diligencia, but in a 
vehicle of similar nature which I had chartered to 
convey me to a distant point. As I was starting some 
Mexican friends of a neighbouring hacienda approached 
the vehicle, accompanied by a stout padre. "Would I 
do them and the padre the great favour of taking the 
latter in my coach, which would save the worthy repre- 
sentative of the Church a long, hot ride ? " they asked. 
" Of course I would ; nothing would afford me greater 
pleasure," I replied, although in strict truth this was an 
expression of courtesy rather than of actual fact, for the 
padre looked very heavy, and I had desired to journey 
rapidly without a change of mules. The reverend 
gentleman was of a type commonly met with in Spanish- 
America, of little education and predominant native 
physiognomy, but jovial withal. A basket containing 
good and liberal provisions to sustain the padre upon his 
arduous journey was put into the coach by his friends, 
and simultaneously put at my service, as a matter of 
course. From the covering of the basket protruded 
the tops of various bottles of wine and beer, which 
my travelling companion eyed with satisfaction, and 
indeed before we started he insisted upon opening one 



236 MEXICO 

— of cognac — and giving us a copa all round. This 
habit of drinking brandy in the early morning is a 
common one in Latin America — it is said to ward off 
malaria ! — but is not an acceptable one to the temperate 
Briton. 

Well, the coach started. The peon who held the 
mules' heads — a necessary precaution — let go, and the 
half-broken animals bounded forward along the rough 
and dusty road, in a way which rendered both the padre 
and myself quite speechless for a space. However, they 
soon settled down into their rapid jog-trot, and I found 
my companion quite loquacious. His mission had been 
to marry a number of peones at the hacienda, who, at such 
places, where the visits of a representative of the Church 
are apt to be few and delayed, have to wait for the Church's 
blessing for some time, and then receive it in batches. 
This delay, however, does not necessarily cause a post- 
ponement of their matrimonial relations in other respects 
— as, indeed, the reverend father informed me ! Other 
interesting matters and views of men (and women) and 
their customs the padre unfolded as we went along, 
drawn from his professional experience, and recounted, 
perhaps, with more freedom to a foreigner who under- 
stood his language, and doubtless rendered of more 
facile delivery by the frequent investigations of the 
contents of the bottles which he made as the day 
wore on. 

As evening approached my coach halted at a small 
village at the foot of a range of hills which intersected 
the desert, in order that the mules might water. The 
inhabitants of the place, eager for the least distraction, 
approached ; and, learning that a padre was within the 
vehicle, the women and girls crowded round to receive 
the good man's benediction and kiss his hand, which he 
graciously extended from the carriage window. But 
the throng was considerable, and our stay short, and it 
seemed that many of them would not be able to kiss the 
brown hand of the priest. And now I absolve myself 
from having done it on purpose ! My own hand lay 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 237 

upon the sill of the window upon my side of the coach, 
and suddenly I felt the pressure of a pair of lips upon it ! 
Looking out, I saw that some of the girls and women 
had come round to that side of the vehicle, and, doubt- 
less, supposing that I was also a padre, had begun to kiss 
my hand. A certain feeling of pity or delicacy caused 
me to refrain from removing it — let them be happy in 
thinking they were also the recipient of some attention ; 
and so I left it there. No one peered into the gloom of 
the vehicle's interior, or the supposed padre would have 
been discovered as a clean-shaven young Englishman, 
dressed, not in priestly black and cassock, but in riding 
garments ! And when the vehicle started I did not 
consider it necessary to inform my companion of the 
role I had unwittingly played. 

But the day's adventures were not over. In crossing 
the dry bed of an arroyo a wheel gave way and the coach 
overturned, fortunately for me on the side of the 
padre ! Had it been otherwise the weight of the good 
priest might have caused me much inconvenience ; but 
as it was I fell upon him. It was in no irreverent spirit 
that I afterwards cogitated that, at least on one occasion 
of my life, the Romish Church had interposed between 
me and injury ! And as the priest was not hurt, I could 
afford to impart this view to him. 

The poor peon class is there much under the influence 
of the priest, especially the women, and, indeed, among 
the upper classes the confessional and other priestly 
operations are attended with as much rigidity as in past 
centuries, although the male sex has very greatly eman- 
cipated itself therefrom, and receives any allusions to the 
priest with a shrug of the shoulders, or, at times, with 
coldness or open hostility towards that worthy. The 
Church has fallen into disrepute in Mexico, and it is 
impossible that it should ever regain its former pre- 
eminence. The humble peones arouse the foreigner's 
pity. Poor people ! they are bound by centuries of class- 
distinction and priestly craft transplanted from an old- 
world monarchy. These people are generally affectionate 



238 MEXICO 

and respectful ; they will undergo hardship and toil to 
serve us if we have by justice and tolerance won their 
respect and sympathy ; and with a faithfulness that is 
almost canine. Their feasts, ceremonies, griefs, are 
quaint and full of colour and the human touch. Their 
simple state of life and humble dress take nothing 
from their native courtesy. Behold yon sandalled and 
mania- (cheap calico) clad worker. He will never think 
of addressing us without taking off his grimy and bat- 
tered hat, nor will he speak to his acquaintance or fel- 
low worker save as " Don " — Don Tomas, Don Juan, or 
whatever it may be. His first salutation in the morn- 
ing is always to ask how we have slept. Indeed this is 
a common form of salutation with all classes in Mexico, 
" Como ha pasado usted la noche f " And it is but an 
indication of that importance which they attach to sleep. 
None would think to disturb our siesta, no matter who 
might be waiting to see us, and nothing short of actual 
danger to us would cause us to be awakened before the 
usual hour, or aroused after we had retired. 

The great enemy of the peon and Indian class is 
alcohol. Whether it be the mild intoxicant pulque of 
the plateau — for the beverage will not keep in the tierra 
caliente — or whether the fiery aguadiente, or cane-rum, 
or the potent mezcal, also made from maguey, the habit 
of drinking to excess is the ruination of the working 
class. Wherever it may be, whether under the shade 
of a tree in the noonday sun, or riding an attenuated 
horse across the plains, or at the dwelling of some 
compadre or other acquaintance, there is a bottle pro- 
truding from pocket or saddle-bags, and the odour of 
spirits in the air. The remedy lies largely in prohibition, 
but, alas ! the country's legislators are generally great 
landowners, and part of their revenue comes from the 
growing of the maguey, or of the sugar-cane, and in the 
making and sale of pulque and aguadiente. 

The dress of the peon is picturesque, and to the foreign 
observer ever strikes a note of almost operatic strain. As 
the sun sets the peon dons his poncho, or serape, as the 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 239 

red blanket which is his invariable outer garment is 
termed. In the cool air of the morning or evening he 
speaks but Httle, covering his mouth with a corner of 
the scrape, for he has a constant and, as far as the 
foreigner can observe, unfounded fear of pneumonia. 
The crowning point of his dress is the great conical, 
broad-brimmed hat, which is the main and peculiar 
characteristic of the inhabitants of this land ; a national 
and remarkable headgear which is met with nowhere else. 
There is ever a brigand-like local colour about the 
Mexican peon, and indeed of some of the upper classes 
in their national dress. The peon, or the vaquero,^ as he 
stalks muffled through the streets or plaza, or lurks 
within his habitation with a corner of the serape thrown 
over his shoulder and a knife stuck in his belt, is a sub- 
ject which might have stepped from the boards of a 
theatre ! Although he is respectful in his demeanour, 
and often devout in his language, the open greeting 
and confident demeanour of the Anglo-Saxon is absent. 
Who can blame him ? The oppression of centuries 
weighs upon him ; he has been doomed to ignorance 
and poverty ever since his Iberian conquerors set foot 
upon the soil which was his, and the descendants of this 
same conquering race do little but perpetuate his 
melancholy state. In the years since the Republic was 
established he has been constantly dragged from his 
peaceful labours to serve this or that revolutionary 
malcontent, and so made to destroy rather than create 
industry. And to-day he is the subject of such unequal 
wealth and class distinction whose change it seems 
impossible to hope for. Yet there is some progress. 

As to the women of the peones, their dress is generally 
sombre-hued and modest. No scarlet blanket covers 
them, but a blue reboso, or shawl, which is generally placed 
over the head in lieu of a hat. The women of the poorer 
classes accept, with what to the foreigner seems almost 
a pathetic resignation, the style of dress which custom 
has dictated to their class. There is no aping of the 
' Cowboy. 



240 MEXICO 

rich in their attire. Whether it be the fine lace mantilla 
or the Parisian hat which the far-distant-from-her 
sefiorita wears, as in temple or plaza she takes her 
dainty way, or the pretty frock or delicate shoes, the 
poor woman of the peon, or the mujer of the petty shop- 
keeper, casts no envious glance — but no, that would not 
be true ! She casts them, but she will not strive to 
imitate. Is there not some virtue in such non-emula- 
tion, or is it but the spirit of a deadened race ? Yet 
this rather sombre and unattractive apparel is found more 
among the peon class ; the Indian girl in some parts of 
Mexico — as at Tehuantepec — wears a handsome native 
costume, derived from Aztec days, at holiday time. 

The reboso, or shawl, is a useful article of clothing of 
the women of this class. We shall meet her trudging 
along dusty roads or over steep mountain trails, sad- 
faced and patient, with her baby slung behind her in 
a reboso tied round her waist ; or possibly she has utilised 
it to collect some scanty lena, or firewood, from among 
the dry scrub of the array o, just as her man uses his 
serape as a universal hold-all on occasions for potatoes, 
maize, or other articles which he has purchased at the 
village market. 

The complexion of the Mexican peon class is generally 
exceedingly dark, approaching coffee-colour, although 
they have, of course, no strain of African blood in their 
composition. But the types of faces vary much for dif- 
ferent parts of the country — due to the numerous distinct 
races. Some purely aboriginal faces are almost clear-cut 
and attractive, especially among the women. The peon 
women, too, are often soft and pretty, and attract, and 
are attracted, by the foreigner. Near the lines of the 
railroads the progeny of Mexican women — Anglo-Saxon 
in type — are often seen ! 

The Mexicans, peones and Indians, have a remarkable 
aptitude — like those other peoples of aboriginal blood in 
America, as Peru — for making things by hand which 
require care and patience. The exquisite figures with 
delicately carved features and dress, pottery, woven 





NATIVE WOMEN OF TEHUANTEPEC : ORDINARY DRESS AND CHURCH- 
GOING COSTUMES. 

[Tij/ace p. 240. 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 241 

material, as mats and pouches, straw (and Panama) hats, 
and so forth, are such in dehcacy and texture as it is 
improbable could be made by the workmen of Europe. 

Indeed, the elements of care and patience are much 
developed among these semi-civilised peoples. A Mexican 
peon will not miss his way on the plains or in the moun- 
tains — the least indication will serve his recollection of 
the route, and, indeed, it is not necessary to enlarge upon 
the aborigine's natural science of woodcraft. Moreover, 
the peon will carry any delicate object — a theodolite or 
barometer, or other scientific instrument, for example — 
with such care over the roughest and most precipitous 
places that it will never be injured, and where in similar 
situations, the clumsy European or American would 
inevitably bring it to disaster. 

The Mexicans are dexterous in pottery-making, and 
they fashion great ollas to a wonderfully symmetrical 
form without other appliance than that of a small wooden 
paddle or beater, with which the red earth-mortar is 
shaped and patted into form. This method, indeed, dates 
from Aztec time, when there was no potter's wheel. They 
are sun-dried first and then baked. The makers of these, 
orthe vendors, carry numbers of themabout bound up in 
crates, a huge load on their backs ; and as they are much 
in demand, the women rush out of their houses eager to 
purchase, as the o//a-carriers enter the villages. These 
huge pots are mainly used for carrying water from the 
spring, and with a reboso or shawl as a pad upon their 
shoulder or their head, the women walk gracefully along 
with their heavy burden of the necessary water-supply, 
at morning or evening. 

The peon is ever ready to exchange work for play, or 
indeed to shelve the former altogether at times, and the 
numerous feast-days — the dias de fiesta — which are the 
despair of the foreign employer of labour in Mexico, fall 
in well with this disposition. The spectacle of the bull- 
fight appeals greatly to him, ever the national sport. 
Even in the small villages and haciendas, remote from 
the capitals, bull-fighting is the favourite sport, and local 

17 



242 MEXICO 

toreros from among the middle-class young men of the 
place enter the arena to display their valour. A bull- 
ring is easily made in the plaza, or a corral or court- 
yard, and young bulls, sometimes with their horns 
blunted to render the pastime less dangerous, are harried 
about the improvised arena in the usual style, the picadores, 
bandilleros and capeadores all taking up their office in 
approved style. The sport tries the mettle of these 
aficionados, as the amateur bull-fighters are termed, and 
many, considering discretion the better part of valour, 
promptly retreat and hurriedly climb the barrier as the 
angry bovine makes his entrance to the ring. As a rule, 
however, the young Spanish-Mexicans show a bold front 
to the animal. Is this not the sacred and national sport 
of the land of their forefathers ? Does not the sangre 
espanola run in their veins ? None so low as to turn 
before a bull, or if he does the howls of the peon 
spectators who line the walls will make him blush for 
shame. 

In such a scene I found myself on one occasion. 
A remote hacienda, and bull-fight, of aficionado nature, 
inaugurated in honour of some occasion of birthday or 
other anniversary of the proprietor, whose guest I was. 
Some lively bulls were performing in the arena, and 
more than one ambitious amateur bull-fighter had retired 
the worse for his temerity. " Senor," said one of the 
guests turning to me, " doubtless you would like to try 
your hand ! " The idea met with instant approval by the 
others present, and the word went round that the ingles 
was to enter the ring. I confess the invitation did not 
appeal to me. The bull at that moment occupying the 
arena had already drawn blood from one of his tor- 
mentors, who was outside repairing his injuries, and 
the animal stood in the centre of the space, lashing his 
tail and throwing earth over his shoulder after the manner 
of his kind, what time he wrathfuUy eyed the audience. 
My host — he was a Spaniard, a large landowner — possibly 
seeing some disinclination reflected on my face, inter- 
posed : " There is no shame in refusing," he said. " It is 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 243 

not to be expected that an Englishman knows anything 
about this sport." But the ladies of the party looked, I 
thought, disappointed, and the pcones around the walls 
were already shouting my name, and calling upon me to 
** entrar" \ This would never do. "Sefiores," I said in 
the most grandiloquent Spanish I could muster, " you 
are much mistaken if you think an Englishman is any 
more afraid of a bull than a Mexican or a Spaniard " ; 
and, taking a proffered pair of handcrillas, I descended 
from the platform and entered the arena. 

The cheers and yells which arose from the peon audience 
were deafening, and then an ominous calm. The bull 
advanced towards me and — I must confess it — loomed 
large as a locomotive I But perhaps fortune favours the 
brave, and whether from often having seen it done or 
whether from good luck alone, I placed the decorated 
handcrillas successfully in the animal's neck, and instantly 
leaped aside with instinctive agility, having felt the 
breath from his nostrils upon my face, whilst the animal, 
smarting with the pain from the barbed points, bounded 
some paces away, and the audience cheered itself hoarse 
and gave repealed vivas for the ingles. Now was the 
moment to retire in " peace with honour," but desirous 
of showing how little I cared for the animal — a sentiment 
I did not really feel — I turned my back to the bull, and 
ostentatiously unrolled a Havana cigar from its lead-foil 
covering, and calmly cutting off the end, I proceeded to 
light it. The bull saw it. With a bound he was upon 
me, and as I turned to leap aside his horns passed clean 
under my waistcoat and shirt, and ripped them open to 
the flesh. Hurled aside by the impact, I lost my balance 
and staggered wildly, but faced the brute again, whilst 
deafening yells — whether of delight at possible disaster or 
encouragement to go on, I could not tell — arose from the 
spectators who thronged the barriers. But up came the 
capeadores, and diverting the animal's attention as was 
their office, I retired, not without dignity, and received the 
congratulations of my friends, and a Spanish sash from 
the presiding " queen " of the entertainment. But 1 



^44 MEXICO 

took no credit for it myself ; rather I felt that I had done 
wrong and barely escaped punishment, in countenancing 
and taking part in what every Englishman must consider 
an uncivilising form of sport. 

Horsemanship and its accompanying callings play a 
prominent part in rural life in Mexico. The hacendado, 
or estate owner, or ranchero, mounts his horse directly 
after early morning coffee, in order to make the round of 
his plantations. The vaquero, or cowboy of Mexico, is 
possibly the most expert horseman in the world, and the 
method of training the horse to the lightest touch of the 
rein, and the comfortable yet swift paso, or rapid march 
to which the animal is trained, are such as the foreign 
observer notes with interest. Indeed, is he wise he 
adopts this paso himself, instead of the English trot. 

A distinctive riding dress is used by the Mexican horse- 
man — the charro costume, which is a remarkable and 
even gorgeous habiliment, both as regards man and 
horse. The short coat and tightly-fitting trousers are 
made of soft deerskin, tanned to a rich burnt-sienna hue. 
Down the edges of the coat and upon its lappels a 
border of luxuriant gold or silver lace is worked, and 
round the buttonhole similar profuse ornament is planted, 
and upon the cuffs. A stripe of intricately patterned 
gold lace runs down the seams of the trousers, which 
latter, tight-fitting at the top, are adjusted very closely at 
the calf of the leg. For riding in rough country a further 
leg-covering is worn ; a kind of loose trousers put over 
the others and buckled round the waist, called chaparreras, 
made and ornamented with similar material. The 
crowning glory of the whole is the huge Mexican hat. 
This is made of thick beaver-looking felt, with a soft silky 
surface. Its form is well known with a very high taper- 
ing dome-like crown and very broad brim. This great 
headgear is also profusely ornamented with gold or silver 
lace, worn principally by the rancheros, and the owner's 
initials are generally worked upon the front of the crown 
in large gold letters. The hat is of considerable weight. 
To return to the lower members again, the feet are 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 245 

armed with a pair of spurs of appalling size and weight, 
the "wheel" portion being several inches in diameter, 
and the whole weighing several pounds each. These are 
often of steel inlaid with gold or silver, and are buckled 
upon the foot with an elaborate strap and embossed 
medallion. These spurs do not lacerate the horse, as 
their points are blunt. The effect of the whole dress is 
almost dazzling, but the big hat set over the tight trousers 
and short coat gives a somewhat top-heavy appearance. 

The trappings of the horse are not unworthy of the 
gorgeous habiliments of the jinete, or horseman. The 
Mexican montura, or saddle, is of beautifully tanned 
leather of a high colour, and profusely-embroidered with 
silver patterns and ornamentations, and the whole is 
exceedingly heavy. It is, however, remarkably comfort- 
able, and "the horse carries the weight," the Mexican will 
inform you if you criticise its bulk in comparison with 
an English saddle. For work in the country no expe- 
rienced traveller would ever think of using the English 
form of saddle. In Mexico or South American countries 
it is altogether unsuitable, both for horse and rider, giving 
a maximum of fatigue and minimum of comfort. Also 
the heavy Mexican bit and single rein are better for travel 
in these regions, as ever used by the natives. This bit is 
not necessarily cruel, and in fact the Mexican horses are 
so remarkably trained as to their mouths, that the faintest 
touch of a single finger on the bridle is sufficient for 
instant obedience. As to the huge spurs they are not 
necessarily cruel, indeed they are less so than the sharp 
English kind, which draw blood easily where the native 
instrument does not abrade the skin. 

The remarkable and dexterous management of the 
lasso, or riata, by the rural Mexican is such as fills the 
beholder with admiration and surprise that so skilful a 
combination of hemp and horseflesh, managed by a 
man's hand, could exist. Behold the vaquero, with his 
riata whirling aloft as at full gallop he pursues a fleeing 
bull ! Closing upon it a few yards away the lasso swings 
its unerring coils through the air, the noose descends 



246 MEXICO 

upon horns or hoofs at the will of the vaqiiero, and it is 
quite common to iasso the two hind legs of the animal 
whilst he is in full gallop. And now the horse plays his 
intelligent part. The noose has fallen with the accuracy 
desired ; the vaquero winds his end rapidly around the 
horn of the saddle ; the horse gives a half-turn in the 
quickness of thought, in obedience to his own knowledge 
and a touch of the bridle, so presenting his flank and a 
long base to the direction of the strain ; the rope tightens 
tense and smoking with the pull ; horse and rider stand 
unmoved, but the great bulk of the arrested bovine falls 
prone to the ground. It is an art, a wonderful dexterity 
we have witnessed, acquired from birth. I ambitiously 
tried it once, but failed to turn the horse quickly enough, 
and was pulled over to the ground. Of sports on horse- 
back the Mexicans indulge in several. Mark our friend 
the ranchero, in his holiday dress, upon a dia de fiesta. 
He is going to show us the "raya." His man marks a 
spot on the flat ground ; the horseman retires with his 
steed to a short distance, put spurs to the animal, comes 
thundering along towards us at full gallop, and as he 
reaches the mark on the soil he suddenly draws rein, and 
the obedient horse putting his legs rigidly together, 
slides forward on his hoofs with his own momen- 
tum, scoring out a mark about his ow^n length on the 
ground, and stops dead without moving a muscle. This 
mark is the " raya." Another diversion is that where 
gaily-be-ribboned chickens — alive — are provided by the 
novias, or sweethearts of the young men : and these, 
mounted on their steeds, ride fast and furious to capture 
the bird from the one who holds it. The unfortunate 
chicken is generally torn to pieces, and sometimes in 
jealous anger and rivalry other blood is shed than that 
of the innocent bird ! 

The riata at times serves the Mexican as a lethal 
weapon. Perhaps a quarrel between two hot-blooded 
vaqueros has taken place. One draws his revolver — if his 
circumstances permit him the possession of so expensive 
a weapon, and they are generally carried — whilst the 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 247 

other lays hand to his riata. It might be supposed that 
the man with the revolver would triumph, but woebetide 
him if he tails to bring down his enemy — both are dart- 
ing about on their agile horses — before the chambers are 
exhausted, for the other, whirling the rope aloft, lassoes 
him, and putting spurs to his own beast, drags the un- 
fortunate man from his horse and gallops away across 
the plain, dragging him mercilessly to death among the 
rocks and thorns. For the Mexican when aroused to 
anger — and his fiercest passions are generally the out- 
come of love affairs or of drink — is mercilessly cruel and 
revengeful, and thinks little of shedding the blood of a 
fellow-creature in the heat of a personal encounter. 
Among the lower class the knife, or piinal, is a ready 
weapon, and a stab, whether in the dark or in the day- 
light, is a common way of terminating a personal ques- 
tion. This is the shadow of the Aztec war-god thus 
thrown across the ages ! Again it may be said of the 
Mexicans — love blood, wine, dust ! 

Among the upper class Mexicans such matters are, of 
course, unknown, but the challenge and the duel is still 
a custom of the country, as it is throughout Spanish- 
America generally. It fell to my lot in one Spanish- 
American country to receive a challenge. The gentle- 
man who thought himself aggrieved formally sent two 
friends to wait upon me, requesting that I would name 
my seconds and select weapons. There was something 
operatic about the matter to my mind, although they 
appeared to be in earnest, and I could not help remind- 
ing my two visitors of the proposal of a famous American 
humourist regarding a choice of weapons in such a case 
— "brick-bats at half-a-mile, or gatling-guns," or some- 
thing of that nature. However, they would not be 
turned from their purpose even when I seriously asked 
if they really desired the shedding of gore. I gravely 
replied that Englishmen did not enter into such affairs 
and that I considered it uncivilised ; and absolutely 
refused to have anything to do with them. This they 
pretended to attribute to cowardice, and said that in such 



248 MEXICO 

a case I should be exposed to affront or attack in the 
street, to which I made reply that I expected to be able 
to take care of myself and to punish any one who should 
dare to attempt such a course. I easily gathered that an 
elaborate duel was in their minds, a show or scene, such 
the Latin races love and the Anglo-Saxon abhors, and I 
accused them of this. At length, in order to get rid of 
them I made the following proposal : " If your friend is 
really desirous that his blood or mine shall be shed, let 
him meet me alone — I want no seconds, nor friends nor 
any other fanfare. I go out every morning on horseback 
along a certain mountain road. To-morrow I will go 
alone — let your friend meet me, also alone, and there, 
without more witnesses than Heaven, we can settle all 
accounts." This grandiloquent-sounding exhortation 
had the advantage of coming straight from the heart ; it 
was what I had resolved to do, and moreover my side was 
the just one. The two seconds departed without much 
comment, and on the following morning I mounted my 
horse and went out alone, along the described road. 
But in the front holster of the saddle there was a long- 
barrelled Colts revolver, and the Winchester carbine I had 
occasionally brought down a deer with was strapped in 
its usual place alongside the saddle. Yet upon all that 
expanse of road not a soul did I meet, neither that day 
nor on the several following ones during which I 
remained in the vicinity. 

But such matters are comparatively rare, and the 
Spanish-American is generally a warm and courteous 
friend, with a considerable regard for Englishmen, and 
ever ready to show his hospitality, and those general 
qualities which are ever esteemed of the cahallero. 

The riata, which appliance or weapon has been 
described, is ever the accompaniment of the Mexican 
horseman, and part of his equipment. No rider would 
ever go forth without, for its multiplicity of uses in 
woodcraft and travel is remarkable. It is one of the 
main accoutrements of the rurales, the fine body of 
county police which were called into being by President 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 249 

Diaz. At the time of the war with the French of 
Maximilian the riata was sometimes employed by the 
Mexican soldiers with deadly effect in foraging or scout- 
ing parties. Two Mexicans, each with the end of a riata 
wound round the horn of his saddle, would charge 
suddenly from ambush upon some unsuspecting Frawc^ses, 
tearing them from their horses with the taut rope. 
" The Mexicans have a terrible and barbarous weapon 
— the riata ! " — was recorded by the French soldiery at 
that time. 

As to foreigners in Mexico at the present time, those 
most in evidence are the Spaniards and the Americans 
of the United States. Spaniards are continually arriving, 
and they generally settle down and make good and useful 
citizens, and often amass much wealth. They are not, 
however, of the upper or cultivated class from Spain, and 
their manners and language are far inferior to those of 
the cultured Mexicans. The Spaniard of a certain class 
is possibly the worst-spoken man to be met with. His 
speech teems with indecent words and profane oaths, 
and whilst he does not mean to use these except as a 
mere habit, it marks him out from other races, even 
from the American with his own peculiar and constant 
" god-dam " and other characteristic terms, both profane 
and indecent. The most noticeable and objectionable 
American habit, however, which is shared by the 
Mexican and South American to the full, is that of 
continually expectorating. The Anglo-American never 
leaves it off, whilst, as to the Spanish-American, it is 
necessary to put up notices in the churches in some 
places requesting people " not to spit in the house of 
God !" There is a considerable population of Americans 
in Mexico, and some of these are of doubtful class and 
antecedents. But it would be unjust to pretend that 
only the Americans have furnished a doubtful element 
for Mexico's floating population. The shores of Albion 
have furnished a good many examples in the form of 
"unspeakable" Scotchmen, Englishmen, and Irishmen, 
at times. Yet the British name has, as a rule, been well 



250 MEXICO 

established throughout Mexico and Spanish-America, 
and the American from the United States has often 
enjoyed the benefit of a reputation he had not earned, 
for, to the native mind, the distinction between the two 
English-speaking races is not always apparent at first 
sight, although it is upon closer acquaintance. 

Whilst there is a growing sense of respect and esteem 
between the Mexicans and the Americans, the former 
have never quite forgotten that the latter despoiled them 
of an empire — from their point of view — by the Texan 
war, half a century ago or more, and only recently have 
the Mexicans come to believe that the big republic to the 
north no longer cherishes desires of further annexation 
of territory. The Americans, for their part, have given 
up dubbing the Mexicans as "greasers," and have 
acknowledged the pleasing and refined civilisation of 
their southern neighbours. The North American, or 
Americano, is often known in Mexico as the "Yankee" 
— not used in an offensive sense, but as a convenient 
designation. This is varied by the still less distinguished 
term of " gringo," and indeed, both these terms are 
employed, not only in Mexico, but thousands of miles 
below, in South America — Ecuador, Peru, Chile. The 
latter is not necessarily an opprobrious term, and it is 
applied to all Anglo-Saxons, British or American, and, 
indeed, in South America, to all Europeans of a fair 
complexion. Its derivation has been expounded by 
various writers as having come from the words of a song 
sung by some British or American sailors upon landing 
at a Mexican port, but the etymology seems doubtful. 
That of " Yankee " is more assured — the corruption of 
"English," or "Anglais," or "Ingles," employed by the 
Indians of North America towards the early settlers. 

Conditions of life and travel in Mexico vary greatly 
according to the region we may be called upon to 
traverse. On the great plateau such as I have described, 
the hand of civilisation prevails, even if its evidences are 
at times far apart. In the tropical lowlands, whether of 
the Gulf or of the Pacific side of the country, we may 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 251 

be much more seriously thrown upon our own resources, 
whether for food, transport, or habitation. In the State 
of Guerrero there are yet large tracts of land absolutely 
unexplored, and the numerous tribes of Indians inhabit- 
ing certain of the tropical regions are under scarcely 
more than the semblance of control. Yet it cannot be 
said that they are ferocious or dangerous. Some of them, 
indeed, are cowardly, and will not even venture far from 
their villages for fear of wild beasts, whilst others form 
the most active and fearless guides, varying charac- 
teristics which show the wide range of peoples embodied 
in the country, as set forth in a previous chapter. Whilst 
Mexico cannot be called a " sportsman's paradise," there 
is in certain regions a great profusion of game, from 
turkeys to crocodiles. The gtiajaloie, or Mexican wild 
turkey, with its great red beard and shimmering blue- 
black plumage, is a conspicuous inhabitant of Tamaulipas 
and other wild regions, and its low flight and plump 
body render it comparatively easy of securing, whilst 
it forms an excellent addition to the bill of fare. Huge 
wild cats abound in the broken country, and osos, 
or Mexican bears. Of sport, adventure, and romantic 
travel we may take our fill among these semi-tropical 
valleys, rivers, and mountains. Of noxious insects, 
malaria, wild beasts ; of flooded streams and parched 
deserts ; of sand-storms, snow-storms, and rain-storms ; of 
precipitous mountains, tracts, and dangerous bogs ; of 
gloomy forest and appalling crags ; of delay, danger, and 
hardship, we shall have all that adventurous spirits may 
seek, and count the time well lost. Of pleasure in nature 
and solitude we shall have much, and of the study of 
primitive and civilised man, and of coquettish maidens 
and Indian maids, we shall carry away enduring recollec- 
tions. 

We are in camp. The exigencies of our travel have 
bid us take up our abode in that hastily-constructed jacal, 
or hut built of branches and plastered outside with mud, 
such as the peon knows cunningly how to contrive. 
Indeed, in such habitations a large part of Mexico's 



252 MEXICO 

fifteen million inhabitants dwell. I inspect the well- 
ventilated walls, for numerous open chinks are left. 
"The wind will come in," I say. "Yes, sefior," Jose, my 
peon-consiructoTf replies with unconscious wit, " it will 
not only come in but it will go out " — and he proceeds 
to remedy the defect. 

Our residence in this spot may be for some weeks 
whilst at our leisure we examine mines, hydrographic 
conditions, flora, or other matters of scientific or com- 
mercial interest which our self-chosen exile demands. 
The simple habitation is pitched when possible, of 
course, near to a water supply, a clear running stream, 
or lake, and if the latter we can take a morning plunge. 
This excites the surprise of our mozo, or servant, and the 
other men in our employ. 

" No, sefior," they hasten to urge us, " it is dangerous 
to bathe the body." This objection to the use of cold 
water in this way does not arise from a dislike of cleanli- 
ness necessarily. The traveller in Western America soon 
finds that care must be exercised in bathing in the open, 
for the effect of the sun and the water is to bring on 
malaria sometimes, which is more easily acquired than 
cured. 

On the edge of our lake great white herons stand in 
the cool of the early morning, and the wild ducks 
swimming lazily on its surface invite a shot. If it is 
winter and we are upon the high regions of the great 
plateau, the lake may freeze at its edges, imprisoning the 
unfortunate birds in the ice. The heat of the midday sun 
at these high elevations is succeeded at night by the 
bitter cold of the rarefied air, and the white drill suit we 
have worn must be supplemented by heavier garments. 

The sun sets in gorgeous splendour over the plain and 
upon the grey-blue hills, and the short tropic twilight 
gives place to darkness, save perchance as the silvery 
moon of Mexico may cast its peaceful beams over the 
desolate landscape. Cigarettes and coffee are finished. 
No sound breaks the silence ; our men's tales are all told 
as they crouch round the camp fire. We have sought 



MEXICAN LIFE AND TRAVEL 253 

our couch and turned in, bidding the peones look to the 
horses, which, tethered near at hand, champ their oats or 
maize contentedly, giving from time to time that half- 
human sign with which the equine expresses his con- 
tentment and comfortable weariness. All is still. Sleep 
falls upon us. . . . Hark ! what is that ? A long mourn- 
ful howl comes from the plain and winds through the 
canyon, and is repeated in chorus. "What is it, Jose ? " 
I call to my mozo and the other men. "Coyotes, 
Sefior," he replies, " they are crying to heaven for rain." 
Of course, I had forgotten for a moment that they have 
this habit, and the sound seemed almost unearthly. 

To return to the game. We are going a-hunting to- 
day. The great barren plains and sterile rocky ribs which 
intersect them, the stony foothills and the dry arroyos do 
not seem to offer much prospect of sport. But our 
friend the Mexican hacendado, who has ridden up from his 
hacienda for the purpose of inviting us, assures us to the 
contrary. And, indeed, his words are soon justified. 
He and his men have led us far away towards the head 
of the canyon, and the dry stream-bed is fringed with 
mesquite and cactus which might offer shelter to quarry 
of some nature. A dozen dark forms start suddenly from 
the shadow of the bank upon whose verge we stand. Bang ! 
bang ! bang ! In the twinkling of an eye we had dis- 
mounted, flung our horses' reins to the attendant mozos, 
and pointed our Winchesters. Several of the dark forms 
lie upon the sand below, inert ; the others, already squeal- 
ing far enough off, scrambling away. What are they ? 
" Javelines, Sefior," the mozos make reply. They are 
peccaries. A good bag indeed and excellent eating, as 
their ribs, roasted over a fire at the bottom of the arroyo, 
attest. Later on we look round for our host, but he is 
away after a plump venado — deer — which, passing near at 
hand, proves too strong for the sportsman's instinct. But 
the night falls ere he returns. " Never mind," is his 
greeting, " although we have to sleep here we may eat 
good venison," and across the horse of his mozo lies the 
drooping body of the deer, its eyes glazed in death, and 



254 MEXICO 

the blood still dripping from the bullet wound which laid 
it low. 

And so our hacendado friend, who owns the land we are 
upon for leagues away, and knows it well, leads us to a 
cave snugly hidden in the rocky wall, with a floor of 
purest quartz sand, and a limpid rivulet flowing thereby. 
The saddle bags are brought in ; they are full of bread 
and tinned meats and native fruits, brandy and wine from 
his own vineyards. We are his honoured guest, and he 
plies us with all this fare, not forgetting the venison roast- 
ing outside. And filled and comforted with good food 
we discourse far into the night of weird things tinged 
with our friend's strange superstition and curious lore. 
Outside the coyotes howl, far away on the plain, and the 
mournful cry of the tecolote, or Mexican night owl, faintly 
reaches my ears, as, wrapped in my blankets with a 
saddle for a pillow, I fall asleep upon the cavern floor. 



CHAPTER XIII 

MINERAL WEALTH. ROMANCE AND ACTUALITY. 

Forced labour in the mines — Silver and bloodshed — History of dis- 
covery — Guanajuato — the vcfa Madre — Spanish methods — Durango 
— Zacatecas — Pachuca — The patio process — Quicksilver from Peru — 
Cornish miners' graves — Aztec mining — Spanish advent — Old mining 
methods — Romance of mining — The Cerro de Mercado — Guana- 
juato and Hidalgo — Real del Monte — Religion and mining — Silver and 
churches — Subterranean altars — Mining and the nobility — Spanish 
mining school — Modern conditions — The mineral-bearing zone — • 
Distribution of minerals geographically — Silver — The patio process — 
Gold-mining and production — El Oro and other districts — Copper — 
Other minerals — General mineral production — Mining claims and 
laws. 

" Grant me, oh ! rock-ribbed matrix, here to know 
Thy minerall'd sanctuary ; 
To none but me the sesame disclose, 
Un-oped since chaos fled ! " 

There is much of interest and something of pathos 
and romance attending the old mines of Spanish- 
American countries — Mexico, Peru, and others. They 
are so interwoven with the history of these countries, 
so redolent of the past, and of the hope, despair, piety, 
greed of the old taskmasters who worked them, and of 
the generations of toiling Indian workers who spent their 
lives in wresting treasure from the bowels of the earth. 
Religion, superstition, cruelty have marked their exploita- 
tion in past ages, and as we explore their grim abandoned 
corridors, and pass half fearfully their yawning pits, our 
imagination might conjure up some phantoms of those 

356 



256 MEXICO 

who toiled amid these old scenes of man's sweat and 
avarice. 

The cruelty innate in the Spanish race has been shown 
in their mining methods, and the native population of 
Mexico, and in a larger scale of Peru, suffered severely at 
their hands. Guanajuato, one of the most famous and 
richest of the mining centres of Mexico — in past times as 
to-day — bears in its archives the stories of oppression 
which marked the methods of the Spaniards, and may be 
taken as a concrete example. It was a system of slavery 
under which these mines were worked — an atrocious 
system of forced labour which took no heed of Indian 
life, save as it might most cheaply extract a given quantity 
of gold or silver ore from the pits and adits beneath the 
ground. Thousands of peones were impressed into this 
forced labour ; armed soldiers were stationed at the 
entrances of these labyrinths to see that each wretched 
serf deposited his sack of rock, under the load of which 
he had toiled up fathoms of notched pole, or ladder, from 
the infernal regions below, panting, sweating, expiring, 
and presently driven down again by the brutal task- 
masters, jealous lest he might enjoy too much of the 
light of day and so sacrifice some moments in the 
delving amid the rocks which furnished the wealth. In 
1619, a law was promulgated in Guanajuato — it remains 
upon the archives to this day — prohibiting the branding 
of slaves upon the face ! 

But these inhuman methods brought about their own 
punishment. The great Valenciana mine, opened in 1760, 
which for fifty years was worked at a sacrifice of human 
life by these methods, producing more than 300 million 
dollars, became at last the scene of a terrible vengeance, 
for the serfs rose in rebellion and massacred every white 
man upon the place. Indeed, the brutalities practised by 
the Spanish mine-owners largely influenced the revolu- 
tion and secession from the mother country. 

For more than three centuries there flowed from the 
mines of Mexico and Peru, millions and millions of 
silver and gold, which went to fill the needy coffers of 



MINERAL WEALTH 267 

Spain, to enrich a distant and callous or careless 
monarch, and to prop up a moribund nation. The 
appalling system of the mitad and the encomenderos, by 
which silver and gold were extracted with indecent haste, 
form such pages as can never be erased from the history 
of metallurgy in the New World. 

Yet there is another light in which to regard the 
picture of Mexican mining, and remembering that mining 
operations, whether in the sixteenth or the twentieth 
century, whether in Spanish-America or elsewhere, ever 
embody conditions of usury and oppression, we may turn 
to this more pleasing aspect. For unless under grave 
oppression, the native miner, be it on the plateau of 
Anahuac, or in the Andine Cordillera, has been a zealous 
worker. His picturesque surroundings, simple mode 
of life, and easy-going disposition, together with the 
pervading sentimental attributes which his religion 
lent, and the sunny skies under which he toiled, took 
from mining much of the material brutality and grey 
atmosphere which enshroud it in Anglo-Saxon com- 
munities. 

Mining was a source of enrichment which appealed 
strongly to the Spanish nature, and it must not be for- 
gotten that to the efforts of the men of Spain the science 
of mining owes much. And, indeed, these remote waste 
places of the earth owe the civilisation they possess to the 
early work of these Conquistadores. The Anglo-Saxon 
world prides itself on the great discoveries and exploita- 
tions which have marked epochs in its gold- and silver- 
getting history, Australia, California, Nevada, Africa ; but 
we shall not forget that Mexico and Peru were yielding 
up stores of gold and silver centuries before Captain 
Cook sailed, or before those historic nuggets were found 
by accident in Sutter's mill-stream, in the Californian 
Sierra region. Scarcely six years after the Conquest the 
silver of Mexico was being eagerly sought, and easily 
found, with that remarkable olfato possessed by the 
Spaniards. Shakespeare was at work, and Drake was 
voyaging under the Elizabethan aegis at the time when 

i8 



258 MEXICO 

the great silver mines of the Mexican Sierra Madre were 
giving up their rich ores to treatment. 

At Guanajuato, one of the most famous of the silver 
mining centres, prospecting was begun in 1525, only a 
few years after the Conquest, and the mining regions 
still further away to the north, as those of the famous 
Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi, had already been 
discovered. History relates that the silver deposits of 
Guanajuato were discovered as a result of a camp-fire, 
made by some muleteers, who found refined silver 
among the ashes, melted from the rock beneath ! Shortly 
after the middle of the sixteenth century the great Veta 
Madre, or " mother lode," of Guanajuato was pierced, with 
an ore-body 100 feet wide. This place, which to-day boasts 
a population of fifty thousand souls, had begun to grow 
and was granted a charter as a Villa Real at the beginning 
of the seventeenth century. This before the sailing of the 
Mayflower ! So, as we look back upon those strenuous 
times of Mexican mining, we shall see much of good 
arising from the metallurgical conquest. We have a 
vision of fair cities, established within mountain fast- 
nesses, within fertile plains, long centuries before the 
advent of the locomotive, cities whose wealth came from 
the fabulous riches of the great silver mines, whose ore 
was quarried from its lodes and deposits, cities where 
fine cathedrals arose, built from the taxes levied upon 
the product of these mines, by which fortunate national 
trait some good at least was perpetuated for the inhabi- 
tants and toilers who produced it. Does the mining 
director and shareholder of to-day loosen his greedy and 
capacious pocket for such works ? We might ask the 
toiling nigger — Kaffir, or Chinese, and his Jewish employer 
in the mines of Africa. The Spaniards did not suck out 
the wealth of Mexico's soil only to enrich a decadent 
monarch and his coffers, thousands of miles away, for 
which we have reproached them. Some of the wealth 
their enterprise produced formed beautiful cities and made 
the desert blossom where, before, savage tribes of Indians 
roamed ; and stimulated great thoughts and actions in 



MINERAL WEALTH 259 

men whose historic names remain upon the country's 
history. 

It was a laborious journey from Spain to Mexico in 
those days, and mining was marked by difficulties due to 
the remoteness of the region from means of com- 
munication, and also from the hostile Indian tribes, who 
resented the advent of the white man into their territory. 
An example of the tenacity and courage of the invaders 
against these odds is shown in the founding of the fine 
city of Durango, 350 years ago. At that time this region 
was the home of savage tribes of Indians, who continually 
made raids upon the Spaniards. A marvellously rich 
mine, the Avino, worked as a huge open quarry, which 
exists to-day, was deeded by its owner to those white 
inhabitants there who would consent to build their 
houses together for mutual protection. Thus the 
beginning of the city of Durango was made. 

Another famous mining centre in those early days, 
just as it is at present, was Zacatecas, and its name alone 
conveys the idea of silver and gold. In 1546 it was, that 
a lieutenant of Cortes, traversing the country, arrived 
there, observed its promise of mineral wealth, and formed 
a settlement. So rapidly did the place become renowned 
that, forty years afterwards, a Royal Charter was given to 
the city, and a coat of arms, with the title, " Noble and 
Loyal." The curious archives of the Alvarado Mines — 
they were worked by Fernando Cortes — which were 
kept, and which show the care in these matters exercised 
by the Spaniards, still exist ; as is the case, indeed, with 
the records of many of the great mining centres of Mexico 
and Peru. Here it is shown that an enormous output of 
silver was made, the total from 1548 to 1867 amounting 
to nearly eight hundred million dollars. 

The great lodes of the famous mining centre of 
Pachuca, which at the present day are the most productive, 
were discovered by the companions of Cortes soon after 
the Conquest. But knowledge of the great wealth in 
silver there was held by the Aztecs, who, in fact, showed 
the main veins to the Spaniards. It was here that 



260 MEXICO 

Bartolom^ de Medina discovered the famous method of 
treating silver ores by amalgamation with quicksilver, 
known as the fatio process, in 1557. An improvement 
on his invention came from Peru, in 1783, which was the 
use of males instead of men in treading out the crushed 
ore. From far-away Peru other matters had come, as the 
quicksilver from the great Huancavelica mines, the 
mercury necessary for the process. And the beautiful 
Peruvian pepper trees, which were brought to ornament 
the plaza of Pachuca by one of the last of the Viceroys 
from Lima, form another reminiscence of the sister land 
of the Incas, in Mexico. There is at Pachuca a link with 
the world of Anglo-Saxon mining — the cemetery where 
to-day lie the bones of clever Cornish miners, who, in 
the time of the British revival of Mexican mining, taught 
the native their more useful methods. There lie these 
hardy sons of Cornwall, " each in his narrow cell," within 
the foreign soil whereon he had laboured. 

What is the earliest time at which man began to dig 
for minerals in Mexico ? It is not possible to determine 
this, as it is involved in the obscure history of the races 
of prehispanic days. But it has been affirmed that the 
method of recovering gold by amalgamation with quick- 
silver must have been known to the Maya civilisation 
which preceded the Aztec times. This is adduced from 
the discovery of a vessel containing quicksilver, during 
the excavations, in 1897, ^^ ^^e celebrated ruins of 
Palenque, in Chiapas. The native miners of Mexico 
have always won gold from the rocks, it is stated, by the 
method of crushing ore and treating it with quicksilver 
in amalgamation, and it is considered that the method 
has not been derived from the white man, but was 
handed down from the Mayas. Be this as it may, the 
early Mexicans carried on regular mining operations, 
extracting metals and metallic ores from the rocks by 
means of pits and galleries, and these, in some cases, 
furnished the Spaniards, after the Conquest, with the 
first indication of the existence of mineral-bearing veins. 
Gold was taken, however, among these prehistoric people. 



MINERAL WEALTH 261 

mainly from the stream-beds, or placer deposits, where it 
had been concentrated by nature. Gold was used more 
as a decorative or useful material than as a medium of 
currency, amonf^ the Aztecs, as among the Incas of Peru. 
However, in Mexico, transparent quills full of gold-dust 
were used as money. Gold ornaments figured largely 
in the military pomp and domestic decoration. The 
wonderful representations of animals and plants which 
they fashioned, and the remarkable presents of gold and 
silver which Montezuma made to Cortes, among them 
two great circular plates "as large as the wheel of a 
carriage," attest the relative abundance of the precious 
metal which the early Mexican possessed. How similar 
were these objects to those which figured in the dramatic 
scenes enacted in the Andes of Peru nearly three thousand 
miles away, a few years later, the student will recollect. 
Cortes told Montezuma that the Spaniards " suffered from 
a disease, which only gold could cure," and the Aztec 
monarch sent supplies of the yellow metal to alleviate 
this ! 

In addition to the mining and reduction of the ores of 
the three noble metals, gold, silver, and mercury, which 
these people understood and practised, were similar 
operations regarding lead, copper, and tin. Of the two 
latter they formed an alloy, and made tools of the bronze. 
Small T-shaped pieces of tin, moreover, were used as a 
medium of exchange or currency. As to iron, it appears 
to be the case that they were unacquainted with its use, 
notwithstanding that the ore of the metal is exceedingly 
plentiful. Nevertheless, it is stated that iron was mined 
and wrought into use at Tula, the Toltec centre, in the 
State of Jalisco, long before the advent of Cortes and the 
Spaniards. 

Regarding the subject of the mining and metallurgy of 
the Aztecs and their predecessors in prehispanic days, it 
must be recollected that historical knowledge about it is 
exceedingly meagre, and the details of their operations in 
this field of industry are buried in much obscurity. 

The Spanish advent wrought a marked change in the 



262 MEXICO 

history of mining in the country. The Spaniards began 
to work mines as early as 1526, and continued their 
exploitation until 18 10, the time of the War of Inde- 
pendence, at which period the value of the yearly output 
was 27,000,000 dollars. There was a general expulsion of 
the Spaniards in 1829. It was, however, in 1700 that the 
most marked period of Spanish mining began. The 
production of gold and silver from 1522 to 1879, according 
to the most reliable authorities, is given approximately 
as 3,725,000,000 dollars, of which gold formed 4 to 8 
per cent. Indeed, the staple product of Mexico has ever 
been silver, in those remote times as it is to-day, and it 
has been calculated that possibly one-third of the existing 
quantity of silver in the world has come from the lodes 
of the Sierra Madre of Mexico. 

The early Spaniards, whilst they did not despise the 
indication left or given by the Aztecs in the discovery of 
rich mines, struck out for themselves and found the great 
lodes which yielded fabulous fortunes in silver to their 
fortunate owners. These adventurous spirits spread over 
the whole of the country bordering upon the Sierra 
Madres, stimulated by the rich finds of silver mines 
successively made in one region or another. They have 
left old workings in almost every region where minerals 
exist, and they extracted great bonanzas with their 
crude, old-fashioned appliances. Ancient corkscrew-like 
workings, analogous more to the burrowings of animals 
than the excavations of man, honeycomb the crests of 
lodes and veins in every part of the country. After 
yielding fortunes to their workers these mines were 
abandoned, not because they were worked out, but for 
lack of appliances for drainage and hoisting, and in this 
condition, flooded or caved-in, remain innumerable of 
their old treasure-chambers to this day. 

But not all the Spaniards' workings were of this nature. 
Magnificent tunnels were run by them into the bowels of 
hills, tunnels whose enormous dimensions excite the 
wonder of the mining engineer of to-day. In some 
instances these socavones, or great adits, are of such a 



MINERAL WEALTH 263 

size that a mounted horseman can enter with ease, or a 
locomotive might easily traverse them. Indeed, the 
engineer of to-day hesitates to attack the mountain sides 
with such bold adits as the Spaniard, with inferior 
materials, drove into them. Similar tunnels were driven 
by the Spaniards in some of the famous mines of Peru.i 

Ancient ore-reduction works, arrastres, canals, ditches, 
excavations, tunnels, pits, ruined buildings, and in some 
cases falling church walls, all of this bygone age, are 
encountered throughout the country, scattered far and 
wide. Those who lived and moved and had their being 
therein lie mingled with the dust these centuries past, 
and kind nature has often covered up the evidences of 
their handiwork with flower and foliage. 

There was a steady flow of the two precious metals to 
the City of Mexico from the innumerable mines of the 
regions which produced them. To attempt to describe 
these mines, even those renowned for their richness, 
would fill a chapter alone. Fantastic displays of wealth 
are recorded by the owners of some of the great silver- 
producing mines — the bridal chambers of a palace, lined 
by the father of a bride with silver bars ; the footpath from 
the plaza to the church paved with great silver ingots, 
for the bridal party. 

A famous hill of iron — standing on the plains of Dur- 
ango, stands out also from the historical vista of metal- 
lurgical discovery of those early days. In 1552 Vasquez 
de Mercado, a Spaniard of wealth and family in Mexico, 
living in Guadalajara, heard from the Indians that a great 
mountain of pure silver existed on the boundless plateau 
far to the north. Arming an expedition he set forth with 
this vain illusion actuating him, and travelled on day 
after day expecting that every sunrise would gleam upon 
the burnished slopes of this silver mountain. Battles 
were fought with the savage Indians who inhabited the 
plains, but vanquishing these the deluded party pushed 
on. At last, on the horizon, the hill rose ; they 
approached it : it was iron ! Sleeping sore-hearted at its 
' See my book, " The Andes and the Amazon." 



264 MEXICO 

base that night, Mercado and his companions were 
attacked by Indians, various soldiers killed, and he 
himself wounded. Returning homeward towards Guada- 
lajara, the unfortunate leader succumbed to his wounds, 
fatigue, and the ridicule of his companions, and he 
perished. But the great Cerro de Mercado, the hill of 
iron, still remains one of the wonders of Mexico. 

The long years of the struggle for throwing off the 
dominions of Spain wrought a great change in Mexican 
mining, and even when independence was accomplished, 
the warring revolutionary factions of a country divided 
against itself destroyed all sense of security, alienated 
the labour, and so mining fell into disuse, and the mines 
into ruins. The history of the great Guanajuato silver 
mines is typical of the effect political conditions exercised 
upon this industry. The great output of silver from the 
Valenciana mine — 300 million dollars during the last 
half of the eighteenth century — fell, after the first decade 
of the nineteenth, to insignificant proportions. The 
city was attacked in 1810, when in the zenith of her 
production, by the revolutionary army of the Republicans 
under Hidalgo, the famous instigator of independence. 
Sanguinary struggles took place in the city, which fell, 
and with it the mining industry. Work was stopped ; the 
waters flooded the shafts and galleries, general lawlessness 
took the place of order, and bands of armed robbers 
helped themselves at will to the silver, and made forced 
loans upon the community. Indeed, at the great mining 
centres throughout the country, Mexican mine buildings 
resemble fortifications rather than the structures of a 
peaceable industry ; those which were constructed during 
those turbulent times. Battlemented walls and loopholes 
give some of these places the appearance of the strong- 
hold of robber barons of the Middle Ages, and remind 
the traveller, under the peaceful regime of to-day, how 
rapid has been the country's progress. 

The troubled times of Iturbide followed, and mining 
operations practically ceased. The Indians at this period 
became unruly in some districts, due to the withdrawal of 



MINERAL WEALTH 265 

the Spanish soldiers who protected the mining com- 
munities; and in Sonora, one of the busiest of the mining 
states, a great uprising of the savage Apaches m 1825 
caused the abandoning of towns and industries and the in- 
auguration of a long period of ruin and bloodshed. In 
1824 something of a revival had begun, by the operations 
of English capitalists in the great silver-producing centres 
of Real del Monte, at Pachuca, as already mentioned, 
and at Guanajuato. The history of this period at Real del 
Monte is a remarkable one, not yet forgotten, and the 
lavish outlay of funds made by the London company in 
Mexico and the extraordinary speculation upon the shares 
in London are still pointed to as an example of mining 
operations as conducted at that period. After spending 
twenty million dollars and extracting sixteen millions 
from its mines, the company was wound up in 1848. It 
was succeeded by a Mexican company, which operated to 
the present time, when sale has been made to American 
capitalists. The turbulent times of Maximilian and the 
struggles later for the Presidency of the Republic among 
its ambitious and unscrupulous military element in later 
years told against peaceful industry. Soldiers and bandits 
vied with each other in extortions and robberies, and the 
fortifications which it was necessary to construct around 
the mine buildings attest the state of lawlessness of that 
period. 

Even towards the close of last century life and property 
were insecure, and men went armed in daylight in the 
streets of Pachuca even in 1890. At Guanajuato the Eng- 
lish company which had acquired the great Valenciana 
and La Luz mines worked them successfully for years, but 
often under difficulties due to the raids of revolutionists 
— as in 1832. But a disastrous period followed, and 
during the last decade of the nineteenth century the end 
came. The regeneration of these historic groups of mines 
which is now taking place is due to American enterprise 
— the British regime is over. The Aztec, the Spaniard, 
the Mexican, the Briton, and the American — each have 
had their day in taking this treasure of the white metal 



266 MEXICO 

from the mother lodes of Anahuac. Whatever their 
operations, good or evil, they have in succession done 
service to the world — putting into circulation added 
means of currency and commerce. 

The extent into which religious matters and emblems 
entered into mining in these early days in the New World 
was remarkable. In many cases the entrances to the 
mines were through elaborate stone doorways, with pillar, 
capital, and pediment, carved figures of saints, and sur- 
mounted by a cross. Such are often encountered in 
Mexico and Peru, and they seem rather the portals to 
a temple than the entrance to a mine. There was some 
virtue in work which lavished its sentiment and artistic 
skill upon the surroundings of a purely industrial enter- 
prise. Churches and chapels, in many instances, sur- 
mount the hills whose bowels are pierced by shaft and 
gallery, and upon the walls of these hang strange pictures, 
depicting, in some places, incidents of mining life and 
accidents, placed there perchance by some devout one 
who had escaped from danger. In some cases these 
churches were built by fortunate men who had become 
fabulously rich by the discovery of some great bonanza, 
and in token of their gratitude to their patron saint who 
had guided them to so fortunate a destiny they raised the 
temple which bore his name. 

The fine cathedral of Chihuahua, which cost more 
than half a million dollars, was built from a tax 
levied upon every pound of silver from the rich Santa 
Eulalia mine — discovered in 1704 — of that region ; and 
in the State of Guerrero, at Taxco, a splendid church 
was built which cost, it is stated, one and a half million 
dollars to construct, yielded by the famous mine there. 
A huge gallery, or tunnel, which was begun by Cortes, 
forms part of the extensive workings. Another example 
embodying this strange medley of silver and piety is that 
of the celebrated shrine, or church, of Guadalupe, near 
the capital, whose sacred vessels, altar rails, candelabra, 
and other accessories of a like nature, are formed of silver 
contributed by the pilgrims who, since the time of the 



MINERAL WEALTH 267 

vision which made the place famous, journeyed thither. 
The weight of the silver contained in these articles is 
calculated at fifty tons. In the plateau-city of Durango 
stands a fine cathedral, and this was built from the taxes 
imposed upon the great Avino mine, and stands as a 
lasting monument to the great natural wealth of silver 
which gave it being and which for 350 years has enriched 
the inhabitants of that favoured spot. In some of the 
rich Inines it is recorded that the miners were permitted 
to carry out each day a large piece of rich ore, which 
they presented as an offering to the priest, who devoted 
the total to the building of a temple. At Catorce a 
splendid church was so constructed, at a cost of nearly 
two million dollars. 

The great Valenciana mine at Guanajuato, of which 
mention has been made as the scene of ruthless oppres- 
sion practised upon the natives by the Spaniards, which 
terminated in bloody vengeance, left a monument to the 
fabulous wealth extracted from it. This was built by a 
miner, one Obregon, who, the chronicles of the city 
state, became the " richest man in the world." With 
that almost fanatic and inexhaustible credence and energy 
which has often characterised the Spanish miner, he 
drove his adit year after year into the bowels of the 
great " mother lode " ; penniless, ruined at last, without 
credit, and earning by his losses and persistence the 
name of el tonto — " the fool." But — almost as if his 
patron saint had resolved to teach his detractors a 
lesson — the reward came. The richest bonanza that the 
"mother lode" ever yielded he struck. From the results 
of this great treasure — a mere fraction of it — he caused 
the fine Valenciana church to be raised, whose handsome 
fagade still draws the traveller's attention and marks the 
romantic episode of mining lore which gave it birth. The 
building of the temple was begun in 1765; its cost was a 
million dollars. 

Ancient and, in many cases, ruined churches, especially 
in some of the northern states, lie scattered throughout 
the regions where great mining communities dwelt — now 



268 MEXICO 

dead and gone. But religion — or the barbaric custodian 
of religion, the Inquisition — claimed her victims among 
the workers of mines. At the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century it was that a rich mine — the Monoloa, in 
the State of Jalisco — was being worked by one Trevino 
and his partner, who, having been denounced to the 
Holy Office by jealous neighbours, they were accused 
of invoking the aid of the devil in their work. The 
unfortunate mine-owner was brought to the capital in 
consequence in 1649 and burned alive ! 

The Mexican miner, like his brothers of Peru or Chile, 
not content with the churches and shrines above ground 
which his religion afforded, often formed chapels and set 
up images in the subterranean caverns to whose habita- 
tion his daily toil condemned him. Shrines and crosses 
are frequently encountered in the galleries and chambers 
of Mexican mines now, as ever. Often, candles are kept 
burning before them throughout the eternal night, which 
they illuminate, and in some cases the devout among the 
miners go through these underground labyrinths in their 
daily toil in the dark, saving their candles to light the 
shrine ! As they pass this bright spot their accustomed 
hand comes up to make the sign of the cross, and 
wearied knees humble themselves in a genuflexion. 
In one of the mines at Guanajuato there is an elaborate 
underground shrine where as many as two hundred 
candles burn at times, shedding a radiance which con- 
trasts weirdly with the gloomy depths of worked-out 
caverns which surround it. 

Such vast wealth as was extracted from some of these 
mines brought not only material riches, but royal honours 
and State positions to their owners. Titles of nobility 
were given by the Spanish sovereigns to fortunate mine- 
owners, some of whom had afforded loans or rendered 
other services, and they received the high reward of 
being admitted into the ranks of the Spanish aristocracy. 
Thus the builder of the great church of Valenciana at 
Guanajuato, which has been described in this chapter, 
from plain Antonio Obregon became Count of Valenciana. 



MINERAL WEALTH 269 

And, again, another miner of that city, Sardaneta, who 
drew millions from the famous Rayas mine, from the 
bonanza which his persistent adit upon the " mother 
lode " laid bare, received the title of Marquis of Rayas. 
Still another — marquis and viscount — this wonderful city 
and its silver mountains afforded in Francisco Mathias, 
the owner and worker of mines upon this mighty ore 
deposit. To some of these men, as related, there have 
remained monuments in the great churches they built. 
The Marquis of Sardaneta raised up the massive and 
enduring structures which form the buildings of the 
Rayas mine at Guanajuato, whose striking architectural 
features of flying buttresses, massive walls, and sculp- 
tured portals arrest the traveller's attention. No sheds of 
props and corrugated roofs are there ; but arches, pillars, 
and walls of solid stone, cut and carved, defying the 
centuries — and above their portal is the sculptured image 
of Michael the archangel. 

Pachuca, the wonderful silver-producing city not far 
from the capital of Mexico, produced a Mexican noble. 
This was Pedro Romero de Terreros, who, in 1739, having 
discovered a great bonanza, enriched himself by this 
characteristic stroke of fortune. He rendered some service 
to the King — presenting a battleship to the Imperial Navy 
— and was created a count — Conde de Regla. 

It is not to be supposed that the Spanish Government 
did not recognise, in its demands for bullion from its 
colony of Mexico, any necessity for scientific advance- 
ment in mining. A petition sent to Carlos III. in 1744 
by various prominent persons, and originated by one of 
the foremost miners of the country, secured the Royal 
assent to the creation of a " Mining Tribunal," and to- 
wards the close of the century this was established, with 
a school where the sons of poor miners received gratuitous 
education in mining, without distinction of caste or 
colour. Indeed, the sons of Indian chiefs of the Philip- 
pines were brought over and instructed here, and returned 
later to stimulate gold mining in their native land. A special 
tax on miners was then imposed for the purpose of raising 



270 MEXICO 

an adequate building, and this was completed in 1813, 
and it has been considered one of the best architectural 
features of the capital. It contained a special chapel, 
where services were held for the students up to the time 
of the Reform, after which it was turned into a library. 

Important as mining has been in the past history of 
Mexico, it is, and must remain, the most important of 
the industries of the country — in the sense of wealth 
produced. This does not mean, of course, that it is the 
most beneficial to the interests of the country and its in- 
habitants at large, for agriculture is that by which the bulk 
of the native Mexicans earn their means of subsistence. 

The mineral-bearing zone of the country is a very 
extensive one, and includes all that portion of the 
Republic traversed by the Sierra Madres and their off- 
shoots. From the State of Sonora in the north, the 
boundary with the United States, to that of Chiapas in 
the south — bordering upon the neighbouring Republic 
of Guatemala — minerals are found. The region in which 
the most important mining districts exist, and in which 
the historic mines of Mexico lie, forms a great zone 1,600 
miles long — between the States of Sonora in the north 
to Oaxaca in the south — and 250 miles wide. These more 
famous and largely-worked mines are chiefly upon the 
western slope of the Eastern Sierra, and their elevations 
above sea-level range from 3,000 feet to 9,000 feet, and 
more. The minerals which are found throughout this great 
region include almost all those known to commerce, and, 
more or less in relative order of their importance, are as 
follows : — 

Silver, copper, gold, lead, quicksilver, iron, coal, zinc, 
salt, antimony, petroleum, sulphur, tin, bismuth, platinum ; 
and others more rarely, as nickel, cobalt, &c. Onyx, 
marble, opals, emeralds, sapphires, topazes, rubies, are 
found, and other precious stones, whilst diamonds are said 
to exist in certain localities. Agates, cornelians, obsidian, 
are also among the products of this nature. 

The following table shows the principal distribution 
of minerals in the various states : — 



MINERAL WEALTH 



271 



5 => 




272 MEXICO 

The geological formation of the country does not bear 
special relation to the deposits of metalliferous minerals, 
which are distributed in many parts of the great zone. 
In general terms it may be said that the abundance of 
the ores rather than their richness characterises the mines 
of Mexico and is the source of their wealth. Those 
which have most steadily produced bullion generally 
consisted of a main lode containing enormous quantities 
of low-grade ore of about 60 ounces per ton ; and 
typical of these are the mines of Guanajuato, Pachuca, 
Queretaro, Zacatecas, and others. The ores, however, 
are not always low-grade, for great bonanzas of exceed- 
ingly rich ore were encountered, making rapid fortunes 
for their discoverers. 

Silver. — The main lodes in those places enumerated 
have ranged up to hundreds of feet in width, and form 
the most potent silver-ore deposits upon the globe. 
Their extensions in length and depth bear out their 
importance as metal-producing sources. Thus the Mel- 
lado vein, of Guanajuato, measures, in places, more than 
300 feet in width ; with workings ten miles in length, and 
extending to a present depth of nearly 2,000 feet. The 
Veta Madre, or " mother lode," ranges from 30 feet to 165 
feet in width ; whilst others of the famous lodes reach 
50 to 100 feet. As to the ore-values, Humboldt, who 
visited Guanajuato in the height of its production, at 
the beginning of the nineteenth century, assigned as his 
calculation a value equal to about 80 ounces of silver per 
ton for the whole lode. For portions of the ore-bodies, 
and for many of the great bonanzas, much higher values 
have obtained, silver up to 7,000 ounces per ton having 
been encountered ; whilst ores of 1,100 ounces have been 
frequently exported to Great Britain. 

The almost fabulous wealth obtained from the silver 
mines has been shown in the foregoing pages, and these 
mines are far from being exhausted at the present day. 
The importance of the Pachuca mines is shown by the 
statement that they produce six million ounces of silver 
and 30,000 ounces of gold yearly. Of the population 



MINERAL WEALTH 273 

of the city, of forty thousand souls, seven thousand 
are employed underground. 

All of the Mexican states are silver bearing, although 
those which contain the famous mines are the most 
important, as : — Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, 
San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Hidalgo (Pa- 
chuca), Mexico. All these states contain numerous 
mining districts — cities, towns, camps — which it would 
take too much space here to enumerate. With the 
exception of the few modern installations most of the 
mines are worked by the primitive Mexican system of 
winding up the ore in raw-hide sacks, hauled by means 
of cables made from maguey fibre, upon a mule-actuated 
windlass — the malacaie. In some cases the miners carry 
huge pieces of ore on their backs, from loo lbs. to 
200 lbs. in weight, along the galleries to the shaft. 
Interior transport and haulage are primitive. 

The principal ore of silver is the sulphate, although 
native silver is also freely encountered in some districts. 
The ores were very generally decomposed to a depth of 
about 300 feet. Argentiferous galena is plentiful, and 
silver is freely found in conjunction with copper ores. 
The caliches, a chalk-like substance, easily worked, is 
another rich form of occurrence of the metal, and there 
are others less important. Various different methods of 
separating silver from its ores are used ; the prevailing 
ones being tht)se of smelting, lixiviation, and the patio 
process, which last has accounted for 90 per cent, of 
the production. Indeed, the recovery of silver by the 
patio process has always been one of the most important 
industries of Spanish-American countries, especially in 
Mexico, Peru, and Chile. In Mexico it has been employed 
continuously since the year 1557, when it was invented by 
Medina at the hacienda Purisima Grande. This was the 
first application of amalgamation to silver ores, and per- 
mitted the treatment of the vast quantities of low-grade 
ores, which did not pay to smelt. To-day great quantities 
of ore are still treated by this method. The process is too 
well known to require much description here. Its main 

19 



274 MEXICO 

points of advantage are the simplicity — in practice, for its 
chemistry is complicated in theory — of its methods and 
appliances. The principal agents employed may be said 
to be mercury and horseflesh, or rather mule-flesh ; the 
mercury forming an amalgam with the precious metals 
under the incorporation brought about by the trampling 
hoofs of the mules. The trampling and incorporation of 
the torta, or charge of pounded ore, mercury, water, salt, 
copper sulphate, and other constituents, mixed into a 
paste, was originally performed by barefooted natives, 
but the practice of using mules for the purpose came 
from Peru, in 1783, as before mentioned. The patio ^ as 
its name implies, consists of a paved yard upon which the 
crushed mineral is treated. This is in some cases of very 
large capacity, one of the most important in the country, 
that of the Guadalupe works at Pachuca, which treats 
nearly a thousand tons of ore a week, being as large as 
the plaza of a city. Upon this the torta is spread, and 
bands of a dozen mules, or mules and horses, harnessed 
together, are driven up and down from morning till after- 
noon, through the slushy mass. The animals are then 
bathed to remove the chemicals, but notwithstanding this 
the work is deleterious, and they last but a few years — the 
old ones but a few months — as they become poisoned by 
the copper sulphate. At some of the haciendcs of Pachuca 
six hundred horses are employed in this work, and the 
total throughout the country is considerable. Constant 
efforts have been made for the use of mechanical appli- 
ances, to take the place of the equine mixer, but these 
have not been found to give the same efficiency. The 
process is typical of the country and the race — time, 
space, and material are plentiful, and labour is cheap, 
and horses — well, they were made for man's use ! The 
innate tendency of the Spanish-Americans to do without 
mechanical appliances also is indulged. 

The growth of the silver-producing industry of recent 
years is shown by the returns, giving approximately a 
value of seven million Mexican dollars for 1890 and fifty 
million for 1902, for export alone. The total value of 



MINERAL WEALTH 275 

the silver production for 1907 was eight million sterling, 
which was more than that of the United States, and so 
Mexico led the world in that year. 

Gold. — The gold which was formerly produced in 
Mexico has come principally from the silver ores, with 
which it is generally associated, and has been obtained 
from the amalgamation of these. More recently gold- 
bearing quartz lodes are being worked, and are pro- 
ducing important quantities of gold. Among the 
foremost of these are the mines of the district of 
El Oro, in the State of Mexico, somewhat less than a 
hundred miles to the north-west of the capital. They 
produced in 1905 about ten million dollars in gold, or 
about 800,000 dollars per month. Whilst Mexico has 
not generally been looked upon as a gold-producing 
country, it is undoubtedly the case that it will, under 
the present rate of development, rank among the fore- 
most of these. At present Mexico holds sixth place 
with a production for 1907 of 3f millions sterling. Gold- 
bearing lodes are being discovered and worked in most 
of the States, and thousands of such deposits are being 
prospected, or awaiting such, whilst numerous crushing 
plants are treating ores in those districts most accessible 
to the railways. The enterprise known as El Oro 
Mining and Railway Company may be looked upon 
as a well-managed and prosperous concern, controlled 
by British capital. It was first acquired by a British 
company in 1815, and it is stated that it yielded five 
or six million pounds sterling of gold. Later it was 
abandoned, taken up in 1870 by native capitalists, and 
at the end of last century purchased by an American 
company, to be again acquired by British interests in 
1899. The enterprise controls a large area of ground 
of more than 500 acres, a short railway to the Mexican 
National Line, and some valuable forests which afford 
fuel. With its battery of 200 stamps and large cyaniding 
mills, it has a capacity for ore treatment of 20,000 tons 
per month. The yield per ton of ore is given for 1900 
at slightly under £2 per ton, at a cost of about 25s., and 



276 MEXICO 

for 1907 35s. per ton, at a cost of slightly under 20s. The 
tonnage treated for these years were 53,500 tons and 
263,000 tons respectively, and all the intervening years 
show the steady increase. The output for 1907 was 
more than a million tons of ore, due to the added 
capacity of the new stamp mill, whilst the monthly 
profits for that year and for 1908 fluctuated between 
;^i4,ooo and ;^i8,ooo. 

Other successful enterprises of El Oro region are the 
Somera Gold Mining Company, affiliated with the fore- 
going, and the Mexico Mines of El Oro. The latter 
company's mill has a capacity of 250 tons of ore daily, 
and the recent monthly profits have been, it is stated, 
upwards of ;^i 5,000. These are also controlled by 
British capitalists, as is the " Esperanza " Mine of El 
Oro, it is stated, which has produced since 1895 a 
value of 4J millions sterling, with a profit of nearly 
2j millions. The "Dos Estrellas" Mine is yet another 
example of this successful district. It is said to have 
made profits since 1902 of 2^ millions sterling, and to 
have ore for future work in large quantities. It is 
interesting to note that this excellent performance has 
been made on ground which had been condemned by 
mining experts ! "^ 

Other prosperous mining concerns in different parts of 
the country, generally owned by native capital, include 
the " Real del Monte " Mines of Pachuca, elsewhere 
described : the " Maravellas and Anexas Mining Com- 
pany," principally silver producing ; the " Santa Ger- 
trude Mines," a silver property ; " La Blanca and 
Anexas," gold and silver — all of which are in the 
Pachuca district. The Parral mining district, in 
Chihuahua, is one which has recently received atten- 
tion, although it is not new, having yielded silver from 
the middle of the sixteenth century. Some six millions 
sterling represent the investments in the district during 
the last fifteen years in these mines. The famous 
Penoles Mine is among the most prosperous in the 
' These figures are from the Mexican Year Book, 1908. 



MINERAL WEALTH 277 

country. This is a lead-gold-silver-producing enter- 
prise in Durango, at Mapimi, worked first in Colonial 
times. Now it owns large smelters, a line of railway, 
and an extensive property. In 1907 this enterprise 
produced 58,000 kilograms of silver, 504 kilograms of 
gold, and has an annual output of some 20,000 tons 
of lead. 

In Sonora various gold-mining properties are at work. 
Among them is the Consolidated Goldfields of Mexico, 
Ltd., British capital : the Creston-Colorado Mines, worked 
by American capital, including the old British-worked 
Minas Prietas mines : there are other gold mining 
companies old and new under British enterprise, and 
the Bufa and the Trinidad Companies, producing gold, 
silver, and copper. In fact, the State of Sonora is 
a rich field for the working of the precious metals, and 
offers great possibilities. 

In Chihuahua are some important gold and silver- 
producing enterprises, among them the Greene Gold- 
Silver Company, owned by Americans, and the Pal- 
marejo Mines, a British enterprise. Indeed, with its 
numerous important mining centres, this State is held 
to be the foremost in Mexico, and a large output of the 
precious metals is being made. 

Lower California contains a great deal of resource in 
gold-quartz lodes, and some important placer deposits. 
This territory is one of the richest mineral regions of 
North America. 

The principal gold-producing States are Chihuahua, 
Sonora, Zacatecas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Mexico, Lower 
California, Hidalgo, Chiapas, Coahuila. No less than 
eighteen of the States of Mexico contain gold-bearing 
districts. 

Hydraulic, or placer, mining for gold has not been 
much considered as a source of supply, as there are 
no great alluvial deposits, so far known, such as exist 
in other parts of North and South America. Never- 
theless, something has been done in this way, princi- 
pally in the States of Chihuahua and Guerrero. The 



278 MEXICO 

geological formation, however, does not point the pro- 
bability of the existence of great alluvial deposits, and 
the placers take the form of river bars principally. 

The rise of Mexico's gold-production has been rapid. 
The country now holds sixth place. In 1893 its 
value was less than 4 per cent, of that of the silver 
output, whilst in 1894 it jumped to 14 per cent., and 
in 1902, 20 per cent. The export of gold bullion in 
1890 was only half a million Mexican dollars, whilst 
in 1903 it had risen to 11^ millions. The value of 
the total gold production for 1907 was 3f millions 
sterling. 

Among other producing mines is the Providencia, 
of Guanajuato, yielding gold, silver, and iron. Yet 
another is the " San Rafael and Anexas," a regular 
dividend-payer, whose net profits for 1907 are given 
as three-quarters of a million dollars. The famous 
region of Tlalpujahua is once more receiving attention. 

Copper. — The rise of Mexico as a copper-producing 
country has been remarkable. Less than fifteen years 
ago the Republic was unheard of as a source of the 
red metal, now it ranks second in the world's output, 
coming next to the United States with a production 
for the year 1907 of 56,600 tons. The following States 
are those which are most important as copper-bear- 
ing : Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Jalisco, 
Michoacan, Puebla, Queretaro, Tamaulipas, Lower Cali- 
fornia, and Colima. 

In Sonora the following mines are at work : The 
Bufa Mining and Smelting Company ; the Trinidad 
Mining Company, upon which large sums of money 
have been spent ; the Montezuma Mine, an important 
enterprise, formed with an outlay of millions of dollars 
upon its appliances and workings, and having a daily 
capacity of 250 tons of ore, belonging to American 
capitalists. The Cananea Consolidated Copper Company, 
a remarkable enterprise instituted by American capitalists. 
Cananea is considered to be one of the most important 
copper regions in the world, and a considerable pre- 



MINERAL WEALTH 279 

liminary outlay made has been justified in the results ; 
the works exporting several thousand tons of copper 
monthly. It forms one of the most complete 
installations of its nature. The Yaqui River Smelting 
and Railway Company is a custom smelter, and affords 
a market for much local copper ore. There are other 
copper-producing enterprises under development, and 
the State of Sonora is thus a most productive source 
of the red metal. 

In Chihuahua active development upon copper mines 
is being carried on, and the production stimulated by 
the establishing of smelting works. There is also an 
important copper foundry at Monterrey, in the State 
of Nuevo Leon. 

In Lower California are the large copper mines 
and smelting works of Boleo, owned by a French com- 
pany. This is an important enterprise, supporting a 
population of 8,000 souls, and its eight smelters are 
of a capacity of 150 tons daily, giving an output of 
copper of 11,500 tons per annum. With its own rail- 
ways, harbour, and town, the enterprise is a self-centred 
community of much prosperity. 

The State of Guerrero affords some copper ore deposits 
probably of great extent, and among these are several 
mines which are being developed. 

In the State of Zacatecas is the important British 
enterprise of the Mazapil Copper Company, with an 
extensive property, smelting furnaces, and railway line, 
with also a long overhead cable system of ore-carriage. 

Iron. — Deposits of iron ores are found in several of 
the states. In Durango is the much described Cerro de 
Mercado, a hill of iron ore calculated as containing 
460,000,000 tons of iron ore, assaying 70 to 75 per cent, 
pure iron. This remarkable hill was discovered in 1552. 

The city of Monterrey, in the State of Nuevo Leon, 
contains a large ironfoundry and steel-producing plant, 
and two iron and brassfoundries, establishments which 
are of much importance to the country. Guerrero has 
valuable deposits of iron ore near Chilpancingo. 



280 MEXICO 

Quicksilver. — In the State of Guerrero are the quick- 
silver mines of Ahuitzuco, which have produced quan- 
tities of mercury. Durango has deposits of cinnabar 
at Nazas and El Oro. 

Coal. — In the State of Sonora are extensive fields of 
anthracite, with seams in some cases 14 feet in thick- 
ness, and these are being developed by an American 
company. Near these are others, equally important, 
and the whole area is very considerable. Coahuila 
contains perhaps the most important coal-beds in the 
Republic, and a considerable output of coal and coke 
is being made. Other states contain coal-fields. 

Petroleum. — In the State of Tamaulipas are the petro- 
leum deposits of " El Ebano," worked by an American 
company. In July, 1908, an enormous "fresher" was 
struck at San Geronimo, near Tampico, and this became 
ignited and burned fiercely for two months, with a pillar 
of flame 1,000 feet high, which was visible for 100 miles. 
So rapid was the flow of oil when this was extin- 
guished that earthen dams were hastily constructed to 
save the oil. Several other states have oil deposits. 

Salt. — In Tamaulipas, on the Gulf of Mexico, the salt 
mines of Matamoros and Soto la Marina produce quan- 
tities of salt. On the Pacific side of the country, Carmen 
Island, off the Gulf coast of Baja, California, exists one 
of the largest salt-beds in the world. 

Lead is distributed through numerous states. It occurs 
largely as high-grade argentiferous galena. The output 
for 1907 was 73,000 tons. 

Antimony. — The value of the production of this for 
1907 was about ;^i40,ooo. 

Tin has not been worked commercially, although great 
deposits of the ores of this metal are shown to exist, 
especially in the State of Durango, where there are 
several districts, Guanajuato and Aguascalientes. It was 
one of the metals used by the Aztecs. 

The value of the total mineral production of the 
Republic, in round numbers, as shown by the fiscal 
returns, including the product of reduction works and 



MINERAL WEALTH 281 

the exports of metals, ores, and bullion, is taken at 
;^i5,ooo,ooo — an excellent showing. 

The number of mining properties held under title for 
1907 are : — gold and silver, 14,950 ; gold and silver with 
other metals, 9,050 ; other metals and mineral substances, 
2,350, or a total of 26,350, equal to an area of 873,000 
acres. The method of acquiring mining property in 
Mexico is relatively simple. As to ownership, the only 
cause of forfeiture is default in payment of the taxes 
upon the title-deeds. 

In Mexico the foreign capitalist and miner will find 
endless scope for his money and energies. Yet it is a 
feature of the industry, and of the excellent conditions 
obtaining in the financial world of the Republic, that 
good mines are easily financed within the country itself. 
Details of the conditions of the mining regions are further 
set forth in the chapter devoted to the natural resources 
of the various states. 



CHAPTER XIV 

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, GENERAL CONDITIONS 

Principal cultivated products — Timber — The three climatic zones— General 
agricultural conditions — Waste of forests — Irrigation — Region of the 
river Nazas — Canal-making — Cotton and sugar-cane — Profitable 
agriculture — Mexican country-houses — Fruit gardens — Food products, 
cereals, and fibrous plants — Pulque production — India-rubber and 
guayule — List of agricultural products and values — Fruit culture and 
values — Forestry and land — Colonisation — American land-sharks — 
Conditions of labour — Asiatics — Geographical distribution of products 
— The States of the Pacific slope — Sonora — Lower California — 
Sinaloa — Tepic — Jalisco — Colima — Michoacan — Guerrero — Oaxaca — 
Chiapas. 

With its remarkable variations of climatic zones and 
great wealth and variety of vegetation, it might have 
been supposed that agriculture, not mining, would have 
been the great mainstay of Mexico. But the fame of 
silver has overshadowed that of corn, wine, and oil, to 
the country's detriment, in a certain sense. Agriculture 
must be the foundation of greatness, in the long run, of 
any country, especially of those which are not manufac- 
turing communities — or even of those as time goes on, 
and Mexico is beginning to recognise this fact. The 
mines are valuable sources of wealth, but there will 
come a day when the mines are worked out, leaving 
gaping holes in the ground, and the silver and gold, or 
copper they contained, dispersed or enriching the private 
pockets of aliens. It has been well said that if the capital 
expended on mining in Mexico had been applied to the 
cultivation of the soil the country would have been four 



NATURAL RESOURCES 283 

times as rich as at present. Fortunately those who come 
to mine often remain to till the ground, as happened in 
California and elsewhere. I had almost said "fools who 
came to scoff remained to pray ! " 

In former chapters the differences of the climatic 
zones have been set forth ; the hot lowlands, the tem- 
perate zone, and the cold regions respectively, with their 
elevation limits above sea-level. These may be further 
described by their main agricultural products as — the 
sugar- and rubber-bearing zone, the coffee-bearing zone, 
and the cereal-producing zone, the last being the great 
plateau. 

It is to be recollected that, rich and varied as Mexico's 
vegetable products are, some of the most useful to man- 
kind were not indigenous, but were introduced by Euro- 
peans. Among these are sugar-cane, oranges, the cereals, 
as wheat, &c. (except maize), olives, the grape-vine, and 
coffee. 

Cotton, of course, was native, and if Europe gave 
Mexico great benefits of staple plants, Mexico also gave 
of hers to Europe, as the chocolatl — our well-known 
chocolate — the banana, and other fruits. 

Beginning with the tropical region, the main natural 
and cultivated products are : sugar-cane, rubber, coffee, 
oranges, bananas, limes, cacao or chocolate, tobacco, 
pepper, vanilla, heneqiien or hemp, rice, cocoanuts, ahua- 
cates or " alligator-pears," yucca, indigo, maize, alfalfa. 

Mahogany and other cabinet woods, and timber ifor 
constructional purposes, abound in the various zones, 
and some seventy-five kinds are enumerated, as shown 
on another page. The enormous tepehiiajes, or cypresses, 
are famous — one near Oaxaca has a trunk of a diameter 
of 50 feet, 6 feet from the ground. 

The temperate zone, into which the former merges 
insensibly, is less fertile, less well-watered, but much 
healthier, and produces matters of equal value to the 
foregoing, among them the grape-vine, maize, coffee, and 
various of those above enumerated. 

Timber for constructional purposes is found freely in 



284 MEXICO 

this zone, reaching far up to the higher region of the 
cold lands. Ranging from 8,000 to 14,000 feet above 
sea-level, the coniferous forests are one of the most 
characteristic features of Mexico. 

This third climatic zone, embracing parts of the table- 
land, is capable of producing all the varieties of wheat, 
and does actually produce some, and the cultivation of 
this cereal is being extended. The maguey, or agave, 
is a staple product, yielding the famous pulque beverage, 
and indeed the lands which produce this intoxicant might 
well be, in the national interests, applied to the growing 
of wheat. The growing of the grape-vine, potatoes, 
beans, and other valuable products and sources of 
industry upon the plateau. Cotton leads in importance. 

As regards the natural conditions of vegetation 
throughout the country, it is estimated that there exist 
some 5,700 square miles of dense forest, 250,000 square 
miles of well-timbered land, and about 500,000 square 
miles of uncultivated land. Mexican authorities state 
that "the regions of Oaxaca and Chiapas have no rival, 
not even Brazil, in the possibilities of production of 
excellent grades of coffee, in unlimited quantities ; that 
the plateau can produce unlimited quantities of wheat, 
even to supply foreign markets; that Vera Cruz, Tabasco, 
and Tepic are capable of replacing Cuba in the quality 
and quantity of its tobacco ; and that the northern states 
could supply food for millions of cattle." Yet, notwith- 
standing these conditions, the export trade of produce is 
almost nil, nor are the general methods of agriculture 
but backward as a rule. There are several causes for 
this — the lack of roads and railways, the lack of labour, 
and the general ignorance of the farming population. 
All these reasons are officially adduced, and strong 
efforts are constantly made by the Government to 
encourage agricultural development. Trustworthy in- 
formation is supplied to the farmers, and seeds and 
cuttings of imported plants — olives, vines, fruit-trees, 
flax, tobacco, &c. — are gratuitously distributed. 

The indiscriminate and wasteful felling of forests is 



NATURAL RESOURCES 285 

now being restricted by the authorities to some extent. 
Great areas have already been denuded, and it is stated 
that this has had some undesirable effect on the rainfall 
in certain regions. The natives of the more remote 
districts — as in the States of Vera Cruz, Guerrero, &c., 
are abominably wasteful in timber-cutting, sacrificing 
whole trees for the obtaining of a single plank at times. 
There is a nomadic race of Indian agriculturists in 
Guerrero who destroy large areas of forest every year, 
burning the trees to plant corn upon spaces which 
they never use for two years in succession. These 
nomadic timber-destroyers are known as Tlacoleros, and 
they are extremely timid and superstitious in their 
dealings with the white men. 

Mexico, like other Western American states, is a 
country whose agriculture depends much upon artificial 
irrigation. Whilst much good work has been carried 
out in this field, much remains to be done ; and the 
want of irrigation works is almost as serious a drawback 
as the want of labour. The singular topographical 
formation of Mexico has robbed it of natural irrigation 
facilities — steep slopes facing the oceans and a high river- 
less plateau war against the retention and absorption of 
the rain-waters, and the run-off is consequently exces- 
sively rapid. Nevertheless proper storage of water in 
reservoirs during times of heavy rain, especially upon 
the great plateau, could accomplish much, and such 
enterprises should be exceedingly profitable, for, in 
certain regions, water is almost " worth its weight in 
silver." In another place I have made mention of the 
irrigation system of the River Nazas, which may be 
compared to the Nile on a small scale. The waters of 
this river, in times of normal flow, are entirely exhausted 
by the numerous irrigation canals which lead therefrom, 
traversing the plains for many miles, and conducting 
water to the large cotton plantations for which the region 
is famous. This region is known as " La Laguna," and 
its great area and depth of fertile soil are the result of an 
ancient lake-basin. So valuable is the water here that 



286 MEXICO 

not many years ago feuds were common between the 
large cotton-growers of the district, who continually 
strove to deprive each other of the water in order to 
benefit themselves. Blowing-up of diverting dams and 
weirs with dynamite even took place, and things reached 
such a pitch that the Government were obliged to step 
in and establish a controlling ''River Nazas Commission," 
under whose administration a proper regimen of the 
waters and irrigation system was enforced. Among the 
great estates of this region may be mentioned that of 
Tlahualilo, with which British enterprise is connected. 
The canal belonging to this company is some fifty miles 
long, and has a large flowing capacity, and there are 
numerous others of less volume. I spent some time in 
this interesting region, and so became acquainted with 
its peculiar conditions. The Nazas rises in the moun- 
tains, and has no outlet to the sea, as elsewhere de- 
scribed ; and, dry in the dry season, its bed becomes a 
raging flood in the wet, a spate or wave of water filling 
it up from bank to bank, 300 feet wide, in half an 
hour. This great flood principally runs to waste in the 
Parras lagoon, and were its waters diverted and stored at 
higher elevations they would be of incalculable value in 
the increase of the available cotton-growing area. A 
project is on foot at present for a work of this nature, a 
barrage on the Nazas. 

The name Tlahualilo, a liquid-flowing aboriginal desig- 
nation, means " The Devil " ! The river gives life to 
dozens of large cotton-growing haciendas, whose owners 
have become millionaires, as a rule, thanks to this minia- 
ture Nile of the Nazas. In this region scientific canal 
construction has, of late years, been well carried out, 
but formerly methods were very primitive. On one 
occasion I was riding with a hacendado friend over his 
estate, when we crossed the bed of a canal — dry and 
unused — which wound over the plain. " What is this ? " 
I asked. In reply he informed me that it had been 
designed to irrigate a large tract of land, but the levels 
were wrong. In earlier times there were no engineers 



NATUIIAL RESOURCES 287 

in the region, and irrigation canals were made by the 
primitive metliod of continually pouring water on the 
ground, or opening a little furrow and letting it run, and 
then following its course with the construction of the 
canal I This had been done, but for some reason an 
error had been made at the starting-point, and the whole 
work rendered useless. In justice to this primitive 
method of canal-levelling it must be stated that success- 
ful aqueducts were generally made, although naturally 
their course was often exceedingly tortuous and much 
longer than would have been indicated by the theodolite 
and level of the engineer. 

In the tropical parts of Mexico water is also of great 
value at times for the irrigation of sugar-cane, as impor- 
tant an industry as cotton, and long lines of canal are 
constructed for this purpose, but under greater diffi- 
culties, due to the broken nature of the ground. Condi- 
tions of this nature are found in the State of Morelos, 
on the Pacific slope, where I stayed for a period, and 
great tracts of rich soil are irrigated for cane, and are 
exceedingly profitable. In the future a vigorous and 
scientific development of irrigation will greatly increase 
the agricultural wealth of the country in all its sections. 
Agriculture on a large scale is very profitable, and the 
owners of haciendas are generally men of wealth and 
position. 

A Mexican country house, or hacienda, is often a 
picturesque and interesting habitation. It is not, how- 
ever — like such residences in England — only a dwelling- 
place and home, but is at the same time a centre of 
industry. Surrounding it are great plantations of sugar- 
cane, cotton, maguey, or other agricultural products 
which the particular region may allord, and the great 
outbuildings comprise the warehouses, machinery sheds, 
and indeed the whole plant for the treatment of the 
product, whilst, near at hand, are the numerous huts of 
the peones, or agricultural labourers, to whose work the 
cultivation of the estate is due. The house itself is often 
of quaint aspect, and of some architectural pretension ; 



288 MEXICO 

Moorish-looking arches and cornices, and turrets and 
columns, balconies and verandas, generally of solid 
masonry in the wealthy haciendas, are set there to defy 
all time. Indeed, many of these have already resisted 
the ravages of centuries, and the great thickness of the 
walls arrests the traveller's attention. The roofs — flat in 
some cases — are generally covered with red pan-tiles dug 
and baked near at hand. Perhaps a small chapel 
adjoins ; aqueducts and stone channels convey a spark- 
ling stream of water from the canal communicating with 
the distant river, and a profuse garden surrounds the 
whole. 

In this great garden are all Mexico's tropical fruits — 
pomegranates, oranges, limes, chirimoyas, ahuacates, figs, 
grapes, and a host of others, and you may wander 
beneath their grateful shade and take your fill. Above 
them, perhaps the tall, slender columns, and graceful, 
feathery foliage of the cocoanut palms rear. And over 
all is the blue dome of the Mexican sky. It is a peaceful 
scene, not without something of allurement. 

The interior menage is more primitive than that of 
European houses, and often presents a singular whole in 
its abundance and crudeness combined. But hospitality 
ever reigns there, and the foreigner is always welcome. 
The production at present of Mexico's staple articles of 
agricultural nature is as follows : — 

Cotton. — Before the time of the Aztecs cotton was culti- 
vated in Mexico, and cotton-spinning carried out. The 
quilted cotton armour of the natives excited the attention 
of the Conquistadores, and they even adopted it them- 
selves. Mexico has lands of cotton-producing adapt- 
ability, it is stated, greater than the United States ; 
nevertheless she imports cotton therefrom in consider- 
able quantities. The consumption of raw cotton in the 
country is estimated at more than 100,000 bales annually, 
of which half is produced in the country, principally 
upon the Nazas, the yearly value of whose crop amounts 
to some two millions sterling. Other states, however, also 
produce cotton, or are capable of large production. 



NATURAL RESOURCES 289 

The total value for the recent annual production is given 
at about -^3,400,000. 

Sugar. — The sugar-cane was introduced by the 
Spaniards, and was cultivated under certain restrictions. 
At present Mexico is considered an ideal country, in 
point of soil, climate, &c., for its cultivation, and the 
yield per acre is high, and as far as natural con- 
ditions are concerned the staple is a very sure one. 
Mexico, of recent years, has passed the point of sup- 
plying her own demands, and now exports sugar to a 
considerable value, although a falling-off in the last year 
or so has resulted upon disturbed market conditions 
abroad. The total production of cane for 1905 is given 
as 840,000 tons, at a value ;^2,65o,ooo (see page 293). 

Coffee was originally brought to Mexico in 1790. Very 
good quality is produced in some regions, and the largest 
output is made from the State of Vera Cruz. The 
industry is subject to fluctuations, due to foreign 
markets, but Mexican coffee is in growing favour 
abroad, and the production for 1905 is given as 20,000 
tons, with a value of ;^i, 500,000. 

Chocolate. — An indigenous product, whose cultivation 
is principally in the hands of the Indians. The output 
for 1905 was 1,375 tons, at a value of ;^i6o,ooo. 

Maize. — This furnishes the chief article of food for 
the working classes, the tortillas. Notwithstanding the 
generally favourable conditions for its productions, 
import is still necessary in times of drought. The value 
of maize production for 1905 was nearly ^^9,000,000. 

Wheat. — This is grown entirely upon the cold or 
temperate lands of the plateau, but irrigation is 
necessary, and in times of drought import from the 
United States is necessary. In 1905 the production was 
132,000 tons, valued at ;^2,2 15,000. The value of Barley 
produced is about one-fourth of this. 

Beans or Frijoles. — A staple article of diet among all 
classes ; were produced in 1905 to the value of nearly 
£1,000,000. 

Fibres. — Henequen or Sisal hemp is one of the 

20 



290 MEXICO 

principal of Mexico's agricultural products, and its 
producers are among the wealthiest people in the 
country, especially in Yucatan. For the year 1905 
the production was 50,250 tons, at a value of nearly 
^3,000,000. The Ixtle fibre production gave a value 
of about ;^2oo,ooo. 

Pulque. — This, the national beverage of Mexico's work- 
ing class, is made from maguey, and the value of its 
production for 1905 was about ;^8oo,ooo. 

India-rubber. — The Castilloa elastica is indigenous to 
Mexico, and there are large areas in the tropical part of 
the country where it is encountered, and some consider- 
able planting has taken place of recent years. Some 
thirty or more companies are engaged in this industry, 
and some millions of trees have been planted, and whilst 
success has crowned their efforts in many cases, and the 
industry seems a safe one under proper conditions, it 
must be regarded as yet in a preliminary stage. More- 
over, the industry's reputation has had to contend against 
frauds which have been perpetrated upon the investing 
public of America and Great Britain. The guayule 
shrub is now a further source of Mexican rubber. It is 
a wild shrub occupying the area of the northern plains, 
and was unconsidered until recently, but now a thriving 
industry has been established through the discovery of 
its rubber-bearing property by a German chemist. In 
this connection I may say that I sent a sample of the 
guayule to London from Mexico ten years ago, believing 
it to be of value, but my friends failed to investigate 
it and so lost a fortune. It is doubtful if Mexico 
will ever compete with the Amazonian basin of Peru 
and Brazil as a rubber-producing country. The 
output for 1905, not including guayule, was valued at 
^^44,300. It came principally from Vera Cruz and 
Tabasco. 

Other main articles of Mexican produce are given 
in the following resume, which serves to show the 
extent of the country's agricultural resources, in their 
variety and order of value. 



NATURAL RESOURCES 291 

* Resume of Agricultural Produce : Last Available Returns. 

(Fractions omitted). 

Article. Value £. 

Maize 8,965,000 

Cotton 3,340,000 

Henequen (Sisal hemp) 2,933,500 

Sugar-cane 2,644,000 

Wheat 2,215,200 

Coffee 1,508,700 

Chilli peppers 95o,ooo 

Frijoles (beans) 933,200 

Pulque 800,000 

Tobacco 606,800 

Barley 562,500 

Rice 273,000 

Mezcal (spirits) 256,000 

Ixtle fibre 202,000 

Pease 200,000 

Chocolate (cacao) 160,000 

Chewing gum 150,000 

Tequila (spirits) 135,000 

Other spirits ii3,5oo 

Potatoes 95.300 

Peanuts 92,800 

Sweet potatoes 71,000 

White beans 70,200 

Vetch (alfalfa) 54,ooo 

Sesame 51,000 

Crude india-rubber 44,3oo 

Yucca 17,100 

These, with other minor matters, give a total for the 
annual value of agricultural products, of approximately 

;^27,500,000. 

Fruit Culture. — A wide range of fruits are grown and 
marketed throughout the different climatic regions of 
Mexico, and the following list of these is of much interest 
to horticulturists : — Alligator pears (ahuacates), ciruelas 
(plums), cocoanuts, apricots, apples, dates, peaches, 
strawberries, pomegranates, guavas, figs, limes, lemons, 
mamey,* mangoes, melons, quinces, oranges, nuts, pears, 
pineapples, bananas, tunas (the fruit of the nopal), 
grapes, zapote. The considerable trade in these will 
be gathered from the fact that its value yearly amounts 
to more than ;^i,ooo,ooo. 

' Compiled from the Mexican Year Book, 1908. 

* This strange fruit is known as " the fruit of the Aztec kings." 



292 MEXICO 

Forestry. — As has been shown, the country is rich in 
woods for constructional and cabinet purposes. Laws 
are being enacted regarding the preservation and cultiva- 
tion of forests, and subsidies are to be granted in this 
connection to cultivators. Among the kinds of timber 
either natural or cultivated, in addition to those already 
enumerated, are : — Cypress, poplar, myrtle, balsam. 
Brazil-wood, cinnamon, mahogany, cherry, cedar, copal, 
mezquite, ebony, oak, ash, beech, osier, mulberry, orange, 
walnut, pine, log-wood {campeche), rosewood, spruce, 
willow, and numerous others bearing native names 
which have no equivalent in English, forming a total 
of more than seventy-five kinds. The value of these 
timbers, felled and marketed, is about ;^2,225,ooo per 
annum, and constantly growing. 

Stock-raising. — This is an important and non-specula- 
tive industry, and the owners of the cattle-ranches are 
generally wealthy. The industry can be conducted on a 
large or small scale. The principal demand is a home 
one, although some export to the United States takes 
place, with a steady output. The exports from 1901 to 
1907 fluctuated between 50,000 to 200,000 head. The 
great plains of the north are in the hands of the large 
landowners, but on the coast foot-hills, where pasturage 
abounds, small parcels of land can be purchased. On 
the great plateau the droughts at times cause severe loss, 
and I have on one occasion observed cattle dying about 
the plain of thirst, and others whose lives were only 
saved by feeding them with pieces of succulent 
palm-stem. On these arid plains water is generally 
encountered in the subsoil in wells of not extreme 
depths, and these norias, as the well and windlass are 
termed, are seen in many places. Laws for the 
encouragement of stock-raising have been promulgated. 
The value of Mexican live-stock, including cattle, horses, 
mules, sheep, goats, and hogs, is given as ^^i 2,000,000. 

Land. — As has been stated, the great estates or 
haciendas are held by landowners who rarely part with 
any portion thereof, and as capital is not always plentiful 



NATURxVL RESOURCES 293 

among them, they are sometimes " land poor " with a 
resulting lack of development. The Mexican landed 
aristocracy consider it a point of honour almost, not to 
part with their land. The problems which have to be 
considered in connection with Mexican agriculture are : 
the establishing of irrigation works, the system of land 
tenure, the question of labour ; whilst as regards the 
tropical products there exists the added element of 
fluctuation in foreign markets. Thus the export trade 
of sugar in 1905 reached a value of ;^6oo,ooo, whilst 
a year later it fell to £6'j,ooo, due to fluctuations in 
European markets : and this matter also affects coffee. 
Special laws concerning irrigation works have been 
promulgated, and Government subsidies are granted for 
such, and there are good openings here for enterprise 
and capital. An international dam is to be built on the 
Rio Grande, for the equitable distribution of the waters 
of this river for irrigation. 

Lands within the area or division known as vacant or 
national lands can be acquired by Mexican or foreign 
inhabitants of the Republic by "denouncement" or 
claim, which entails certain legal formalities and the 
annual payment of a tax. This latter varies according 
to different states, as the land is naturally worth more 
in some situations than in others, and ranges from 2 
pesos — a peso equals about 2s. — per hectare (or about 2| 
acres), in Lower California, to 27 pesos in Morelos, being 
4, 5, ID, 17, 20 pesos in many states, and 100 in the 
Federal District. Payment for these lands can be made 
in Three per cent. Consolidated Debt Bonds, purchased 
at 70 per cent, of their nominal value and received by the 
Government at par. 

Colonisation. — The conditions which the colonist in 
Mexico will encounter will have been fully learned by a 
general perusal of these pages. There is much room 
for colonists and they are welcomed. Great care must 
be taken to avoid the numerous land schemes which are 
continually sprung upon investors by land sharks and 
speculators, principally of American nationality. A 



294 MEXICO 

number of people have lost their small capital through 
investing in ill-judged or fraudulent plantation schemes, 
and as to the United States, the abuse became so marked 
that the Government of that country at length declined 
to permit the mails to be used by promoters of some 
Mexican land schemes. I have seen the most extra- 
ordinary prospectuses, emanating from the United States, 
calculating and offering systems of life assurance and 
annuities based upon the yield of rubber of some tropical 
jungle, which they held in Mexico. A large number of 
these " buccaneers " have been operating of recent years, 
and bona fide companies have to bear the ill-fame so 
created in connection with tropical land dealings. 
Nevertheless, the individual often does and may obtain 
success and achieve profits amid the easy conditions and 
temperate climates of some of Mexico's fertile regions. 
But capital is indispensable to his success, and no 
emigrant should proceed there without it. 

Labour. — With regard to native labour, there is not 
sufficient. The peon earns a low wage, but the demand 
is likely to increase this considerably in coming years. 
Mexico does not prohibit the introduction of Asiatics, 
but these are not a good element, and if such a policy 
were continued in indiscriminately it would be a vast 
mistake and would injure Mexico. The immigrants 
Mexico really wants are Europeans, and their valleys 
and forests are better left unworked than stuffed with the 
yellow race. Similar conditions may be pointed to in 
Peru and other countries of Spanish-America. Mexico 
boasts that she is the "bridge of the world's commerce" 
and that she looks towards Asia with equal favour as 
towards Europe. But the importation of Asiatics will be 
disastrous, and the native peones are a superior race in 
every respect and must rather be encouraged to multiply. 
As regards the labour of the white man in the tropics, 
Nature does not intend him to work in the same way as 
in northern latitudes, and there is no doubt that a great 
adaptability to environment will be brought about yet. 

To turn now to a geographical distribution of the 



NATURAL RESOURCES 295 

agricultural and other resources of the country. As has 
been shown throughout these chapters, Mexico embodies 
a wide range of varying topography, cHmate, and natural 
resources. The thirty-one States and Territories into 
which the Republic is divided politically fall into groups, 
to a certain extent physically, some of them being mainly 
upon the Great Plateau, whilst others occupy the Pacific 
or Atlantic slopes and southern region, with their low- 
land and tropical conditions. In some cases, however, 
some of the states partake of all the conditions of high- 
land, lowland, and mountain region. 

These great territories, the mere names of which are 
often unknown to British readers, are full of interest and 
variety, both as regards their natural features and the 
human element which inhabits them. Names which 
appear upon the map seem to the casual reader to 
embody the idea of vast uninhabited deserts or bleak 
mountain ranges alone. They do not come within the 
scope of ordinary knowledge, and the traveller entering 
such places is astonished to discover beautiful cities and 
picturesque towns, their inhabitants living in a state of 
advanced civilisation and engaged in thriving industries, 
the whole being in the nature of a revelation to his pre- 
conceived ideas of the country. We had forgotten, or 
never knew, that a large productive part of the North 
American continent lay in this cornucopia-shaped land 
of Mexico, or that single provinces, in some instances 
the size of Great Britain, sleep here under a southern 
sun and support a pastoral and contented population of 
considerable extent. Some of them are remote from 
main routes of travel and from the busy world outside 
them — remote but of great future possibilities ; others 
are valuable centres of life and industry upon trunk lines 
of travel, and it will be the object of this and the follow- 
ing chapter to give a succinct idea of their condition and 
natural resources. 

We will begin with the Maritime States which form 
the extensive Pacific littoral from the frontier with the 
United States to that of Guatemala — a zone of territory 
more than 2,000 miles long. 



^96 MEXICO 

The great State of Sonora lies at the nOrth-west corner 
of the country, forming the httoral washed by the Gulf 
of California on the west and bounded by the United 
States — Arizona — on the north. Its very considerable 
area of 76,620 square miles supports a population of 
about 222,000 inhabitants. The state is traversed longi- 
tudinally by the great range of the Western Sierra Madre, 
with various secondary chains, forming a rugged region, 
with, however, a flat zone upon the coast. All its rivers 
descend from the Sierra to the Gulf, the five principal of 
these ranging in length from 145 miles to 390 miles — the 
Yaqui River, which debouches at Guaymas, the principal 
port of the Gulf of California. The climate and tempera- 
ture are very varied according to the altitude, the coast 
region being hot and dry, a low, arid region generally, 
with an occasional rainfall from a cloudless sky — a 
peculiarity of that zone. Temperate slopes and valleys, 
as we ascend, are succeeded by the cold and occasional 
frosts of the mountain region. As a whole the climate 
is healthy. The coast fisheries are important, and 
valuable pearls are produced from the pearl oysters here. 
A varied fauna and flora are encountered throughout the 
state, but although the soil is fertile, agriculture is back- 
ward, due to the lack of irrigation works necessary for 
development, in parts of the region. However, consider- 
able quantities of sugar-cane, tobacco, cereals, fruits, 
maguey, &c., are raised, and cattle bred. 

But mining is the great industry here, and Sonora is 
one of the richest parts of the earth's surface as regards 
minerals. The state was one of the main contributors 
to Spain's coffers before the War of Independence, but 
ruin ensued then, followed by the extraordinary regenera- 
tion of the past decade. Capitalists of the United States 
have invested heavily in the copper and gold mines, and 
exports of minerals to that country reach millions of 
pesos annually. There is some British capital success- 
fully employed also in the mines. Modern copper- 
smelters turning out hundreds of tons of bars and large 
gold-quartz crushing mills are in operation. Numerous 



NATURAL RESOURCES 297 

mines are being worked, and some coalfields are being 
exploited. The mountain region is covered with the old 
workings of bygone days, and the streams' margins and 
valleys contain hundreds of old arrastres, which attest the 
former activity of the Spaniards and natives. Much is 
being done in this field, but much more remains to be 
accomplished, and the prospector and the capitalist find 
ample scope for their efforts. In the chapter upon 
mining will be found the names of some of the principal 
enterprises in operation. 

The state suffers from lack of railways, as is natural 
from its mountainous character, there being but one — 
that from Nogales, at the boundary with Arizona, to the 
port of Guaymas on the Gulf of California, about 255 
miles long, connecting to the north of Nogales with the 
Southern Pacific Transcontinental Railway of the United 
States. There are several good roads and a telegraph 
system. Timber and water are plentiful in some parts 
of the state ; in others scarce or absent. The capital of 
the state is Hermisillo, with a population of 11,000. 

Leaving for a moment the Mexican mainland and 
crossing the Gulf of California, we come to the remark- 
able peninsula of Lower California, or Baja California. 
This great tongue of land, isolated almost from the rest 
of the Republic, extends paralleling the coast of the 
mainland at a distance of 60 to 100 miles therefrom, with 
a length of more than 900 miles and a width varying 
from 25 to 125 miles. Its area is 48,300 square miles, 
supporting a small population of about 50,000 inhabi- 
tants. On the north it is bounded by the United States 
— California ; on the east the Gulf of California, and on 
the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. There are, in 
addition, numerous islands which fringe the coast. 

A range of hills traverses the peninsula longitudinally, 
paralleling and near to the Gulf coast, with a highest 
peak of 4,230 feet above sea-level. Of granite in its 
highest portion, the range is of volcanic origin mainly, 
and gives an arid and desolate character to the land. 
Naturally, from its topography rivers are almost non- 



298 MEXICO 

existent except for a few small streams, the Colorado 
River, dividing it from Arizona and Sonora, being the 
only one of importance, and indeed this is a river of 
the United States, simply forming the boundary of the 
peninsula for a short distance. 

With so limited a hydrographical system and a scarcity 
of rainfall, irrigation and agricultural possibilities are but 
limited. In the humid portion of the territory sugar- 
cane, tropical fruits, vines, maguey, cereals, and other 
products are, however, raised. There are some natural 
products, especially the orchilla, or Spanish moss, which 
grows profusely in some parts of the west coast and is 
gathered and used commercially for dyeing. The 
climate in the north is hot, but dry and more temperate 
towards the south. The flora, few in species, are those of 
the other northern states of Mexico. Among the fauna 
are — on the west coast — sperm whales, otters, and seals. 
The Gulf of California is stated to be one of the finest 
fishing grounds in the world : including pearl-fishing. 

If Baja California is poor in species of organic life. 
Nature has compensated it in the mineral world, and that 
peninsula is considered one of the most highly minera- 
lised parts of the North American continent. Copper, 
silver, and gold are among its most important products, 
and quicksilver, opal, sulphur, and rock-salt exist. The 
famous Boleo copper mine is situated in this territory, 
and some extensive placer gold mines are found near 
Ensenada. The principal towns are La Paz, the capital 
of the southern district, and Ensenada, of the northern. 

Returning to the Mexican mainland we come to the 
states lying to the south of those already described. 
Beginning at the west, as before, we have the State of 
Sinaloa. This long narrow region lies between the 
Sierra Madre on the east and the Pacific Ocean and 
Gulf of California on the west, with a coast-line nearly 
400 miles in length. Its area is 27,000 square miles, with 
a population of about 297,000 inhabitants. Topographi- 
cally the state may be divided into three zones — the 
coast, the foothills, and the mountains ; and in this it 



NATURAL RESOURCES 299 

reminds the traveller of California, to which it bears 
resemblance in many physical and climatic respects. 
The coast zone consists of a well-watered and fertile 
strip, producing all the crops of the tropics. Next 
comes the foothill zone, rising gently to an elevation of 
2,000 feet, and merging into a fine timbered belt alter- 
nating with extensive natural pastures. Well-watered 
valleys intersect this zone, capable of much cultivation, 
and with splendid possibilities for irrigation, cattle-raising 
and timber-cutting. Leaving- this we enter on the more 
broken and mountainous country, with a heavy growth 
of pine and oak forest, grazing lands, and frequent 
streams, extending up to 4,000 or 5,000 feet elevation. 
This also is the rich mineral-bearing zone, whose oil 
deposits have justly caused the state to be considered 
among the foremost in the Republic in this field. 

The Sierra Madre has a general and continuous eleva- 
tion above sea-level throughout the great length of this 
state, of 8,000 to 12,000 feet, except the passes, which are 
crossed at much lower altitudes. The mountains give 
rise to numerous rivers, and the state may be considered 
more freely endowed with water-courses than any other 
in the Republic. Among the first of these is the great 
River Fuerte, with a large volume of water : and with 
ten other important streams it rises amid the snow and 
rain of the Sierra, flowing thence through fertile valleys 
to the Pacific Ocean. 

The climate of Sinaloa is good ; in the upper regions 
excellent. The coast zone is hot during the dry season, 
and here, in places, the malaria found on the coast of both 
North and South America is encountered at times. The 
principal agricultural products are sugar and cotton, and 
these are followed by the numerous fruits, vegetables, 
fibres, timber, and other matters common to these rich 
zones, at their respective elevations, including coffee and 
the cocoanut trees. Cattle and horse-breeding flourishes 
under the favourable conditions the region affords for this 
industry. Wild game is freely encountered, as pheasants, 
quail, and other birds, deer, &c. The cost of living 



300 MEXICO 

is low, the soil fertile, and labour cheap, conditions 
which seem to promise growing prosperity. The mineral 
resources include copper, gold, silver, and other metals. 

The remarkable resources of this favoured part of the 
country have largely remained fallow due to the lack of 
railways. No lines yet connect the state with the rest 
of the community. Recently, available passes over the 
Sierra which isolate the state from the railway system 
of the Republic, have been brought into notice, and 
capitalists, principally American, are engaged upon pro- 
jects to build lines to the coast, traversing the state, 
among them being the Mexican Central Railway. 

The capital city of Sinaloa is Culiacan ; and the prin- 
cipal that of Mazatlan, the handsome and flourishing sea- 
port, which awaits the coming of a railway. Probably a 
busy future awaits the development of this state. 

The Territory of Tepic, formerly part of the State of 
Jalisco to the south, is the next of the Pacific littoral 
states. This small region was separated from Jalisco in 
1884, on account of long rebellion against the Federal 
Government, and it remains as a Federal Territory, and 
not a state. Its coast-line is 155 miles long ; its area 
is 10,950 square miles, and population 150,000. The 
climate is very hot on the coast zone and temperate in 
the hills. Several rivers and streams flow through it 
from the Sierra, some of which are navigable for short 
distances from its mouth. The region partakes much of 
the character of that to the north, already described, and 
of that of its parent state Jalisco, which follows. The 
most important agricultural product is sugar, followed by 
rice, maize, and coffee respectively. Mining — gold and 
silver — is an important industry, and numerous small 
native plants exist for ore-treatment. The lack of any 
railway communication, however, prevents the develop- 
ment of the resources of what is a promising territory. 
Various railway projects are under consideration, having 
as their terminus the port of San Bias, and connecting 
this and Tepic, the capital town, with the railway system 
of Mexico beyond the Sierras. 



NATURAL RESOURCES 301 

Jalisco, with its beautiful capital of Guadalajara, is the 
next Pacific littoral state. It is 290 miles in length, 
and with its extreme breadth of 268 miles it stretches 
across the Sierra Madre and occupies a portion of the 
Great Plateau. Its area is 53,800 square miles, and its 
population 1,200,000. 

The state is exceedingly hilly, being crossed by four 
Cordilleras and other lesser ranges, and as we traverse 
it we pass from tableland to valley, desert plain to rugged 
spur and peak amid scenery often of a varied and pictu- 
resque character. The beautiful lake of Chapala, eighty 
miles long, is the equal of many of the world's pleasure 
resorts. Into this lake flows the Santiago river, near its 
headwaters, and emerging thence, crosses the state and 
flows through the Sierra, emptying into the Pacific at San 
Bias in Tepic. Various other streams flow to the ocean, 
crossing the coast zone and affording the means of irriga- 
tion to its arid plains. The configuration of these rivers 
gives rise to ravines of great depth which form remarkable 
topographical features. The Santiago river in a part of its 
course, near the state capital, forms the beautiful falls of 
Juanacatlan, nearly 500 feet wide, justly described as the 
Niagara of Mexico : elsewhere depicted. 

The climate varies greatly, from the cold of the moun- 
tains to the heat of the plains, and a consequent variety 
in the flora and agricultural products is encountered, rang- 
ing from those of the tropical to the cold zone, from 
rubber and cocoa to wheat ; whilst numerous kinds of 
timber grow in the forest areas, including those most 
useful to commerce. The prosperity of the state is based 
on its agriculture. There are more than fifty sugar mills 
in the state, with their corresponding area under cane 
cultivation, and a similar number of flour mills, whilst 
great quantities of molasses are produced, and textile 
fabrics woven. A large number of tobacco factories 
exist in the different towns, and, in brief, manu- 
facturing of other articles, food, clothing, and general 
industries, show a considerable and rapid develop- 
ment. 



302 MEXICO 

The mining industry is less important than in other of 
the states, but gold, silver, and petroleum are found. 

The fine city of Guadalajara, described in another 
chapter, is situated upon the tableland portion of the 
state, and so enjoys the benefit of railway connection 
with the main line of the Republic, by means of the 
Mexican Central. This line runs westwardly through 
the state as far as Ameca, approaching the coast at 
Tuxpan and Colima : only a short portion remaining 
to reach the seaport of San Bias, in the state of Colima, 
on the Pacific. 

Colima is a small state, bordering on the Pacific next 
below Jalisco, with an area of 4,250 square miles, and 
population of 66,000 inhabitants. Flat near the coast, 
the land is mountainous in the interior. There are 
several rivers, the waters of which, after furnishing the 
means of irrigation, and water-power for various textile 
factories, flow to the sea. The climate, good in the north, 
is hot and subject to malaria upon the coast. The prin- 
cipal products of the state are agricultural ; rice, corn, 
sugar-cane, and coffee being foremost among these. The 
soil is generally fertile ; and in the northern parts the 
woods and canyons favour cattle-raising, in which in- 
dustry various large haciendas are engaged. There are 
also great palm plantations, which produce cocoanut oil, 
whilst timber of valuable kinds exists. Some trade is 
carried on in the hides and skins of animals and reptiles 
— cattle, deer, "tigers," crocodiles, &c. Minerals exist — 
copper, gold, silver, but have been little prospected as yet. 

The means of communication, like those of the other 
littoral states, are principally by sea, and the port and 
harbour of Manzanillo is one of the best upon the coast. 
But a line of railway connects this seaport with the 
picturesque capital of the state, Colima, surrounded by 
tropical vegetation and backed by its volcanoes. This 
line of railway is being continued to join the main system 
of the Republic, beyond the mountains, and but a short 
portion remains to be completed, as described above. 

With a short littoral zone upon the Pacific, the State 



NATURAL RESOURCES 303 

of Michoacan stretches far inland towards the Great 
Plateau. From the burning sun which beats upon its 
shores to the cold mountain regions on the borders of 
Queretaro this state has a wide range of climate and 
temperature, with a flora and agricultural products 
of corresponding diversity, such as described for its 
sister states of this zone. The area is about 22,600 
square miles, and the population 931,000 inhabitants 
approximately. 

The state, in certain portions, is exceedingly well- 
timbered, and provides material for sleepers for the rail- 
ways throughout the Republic. Agriculture is the chief 
industry, among which coffee, wheat, sugar, and rice 
are prominent, whilst the wild rubber-tree which abounds 
on the hot zone might be made a source of profit. 
Mining is not neglected. High-grade silver ores are 
produced and sent to the smelting works at Aguascalientes, 
and copper mines are being actively worked, as well as 
gold ores. Coal beds exist also, and will be of impor- 
tance to the state. 

Several railways enter this territory, and give outlet to 
the produce of its eastern side, but none reach the coast, 
although such a line has long been projected, to terminate 
at the port of Manzanillo in Colima. The great Balsas 
river traverses a portion of the state, emptying thence 
into the Pacific Ocean. Morelia, the capital of this rich 
zone of Mexican territory, stands at an elevation of 
6,500 feet above sea-level, and with its handsome cathe- 
dral and square is a typical city of Mexico. 

In Guerrero we are reaching the narrow portion of 
Mexico, and the coast-line has turned more in east 
and west direction. Consequently the southern side of 
this state is bathed by the Pacific. Remote from the 
railways and isolated from the rest of the Republic by 
the great Southern Sierra Madre, Guerrero, notwithstand- 
ing its varied natural resources, has remained in a com- 
paratively undeveloped condition. 

The area of this state is 28,200 square miles, with a 
population of 480,000 inhabitants. The long coast-line 



304 MEXICO 

of 310 miles affords various ports, and the famous bay of 
Acapulco is classed among the finest harbours in the 
world. Indeed, it has been placed second. The state 
is mountainous almost throughout its entire area, with 
narrow valleys between the spurs of the Sierra Madre — 
which approaches near to the coast here — with small 
plains upon the margins of the streams. The highest 
peaks of the Sierra reach the height of 8,300 feet and 
9,250 feet. The principal river is the Balsas, which flows 
for a very considerable distance from the east of the 
Cordillera or Sierra — more than 1,200 miles from 
its source to its outlet in the Pacific. It is navigable 
for about 150 miles for launches and other small craft. 

The climate varies greatly upon the coast, excessive 
heat being encountered, ranging thence through the 
temperate zone up to the exceeding cold of the moun- 
tains. The state as a whole is healthy, and the mountain 
breezes bracing, but the coast is subject to the usual 
paludismo or malarial fevers of Western America gene- 
rally. Pinto, the curious mottled skin disease, is encoun- 
tered in some of the valleys : as in Morelos. 

Of railways there are none, the main route of travel 
from the City of Mexico to Acapulco having been, ever 
since the time of Cortes, a mountain track, the Camino Real, 
of difficult transit. Various projects to reach Acapulco 
by rail have been put forward, but none consummated so 
far, the nearest rail point being that of the terminus of the 
Mexican Central Railway on the Balsas river. 

The principal products of the state attest its varied 
and profuse natural resources ; sugar-cane, rubber, coffee, 
cotton, cocoa, cereals, are among these, whilst the 
extensive forests afford a great variety of timber. Oak 
grows abundantly. Mining is an important industry. 
The historic mines of Taxco, mentioned elsewhere, are 
situated in the district of that name near the picturesque 
town of Taxco ; and the quicksilver mines of Ahuituzco, 
and the iron deposits of Chilpancingo, the capital, are 
notable occurrences of the rich mineral zone of this 
state. There can be no doubt that the future holds 



NATURAL RESOURCES 305 

much in store commercially for Guerrero, and, indeed, 
recently much attention has been drawn to it as a field 
for enterprise, both by British and American capitalists. 
The state is unique in its resources of huge forests, iron 
and quicksilver mines, whilst it is traversed by the longest 
of Mexico's rivers, and possesses thousands of square 
miles of unexplored territory. The prehistoric ruins 
which are encountered in such large numbers, and the 
remarkable number of aboriginal tribes which inhabit it, 
speaking various languages, render it of much interest 
ethnologically. 

Oaxaca, the Pacific littoral state next adjoining 
Guerrero, is a region of much interest, both historically 
and topographically. The character of the Pacific coast 
has changed somewhat from those of the littoral states 
further north, in that there are no sandy plains bordering 
it, for the waves of the ocean bathe the very roots of the 
forest trees upon parts of the shore-line of this great state. 

The area of Oaxaca is 35,400 square miles, and the 
population numbers some 800,000 souls, of which the 
white and Mestizo people take 330,000, the remainder 
representing the various Indian tribes. Due to its varied 
physical configuration, the state, notwithstanding that 
it is within the torrid zone, is subject to a variety of 
climate and temperature, from the heat of the coast with 
its occasional paludismo and fevers to the pleasant atmo- 
sphere of the temperate altitudes, and the ever-blowing 
cold winds of the Cordilleran summits. Here in this 
region the Sierra Madre forms a " knot " and ramifies 
greatly, the various branches breaking up the topography, 
and entering into the adjoining states. The central 
portion of the territory forms the divortia aqttarum of 
the continent in the narrow portion embodying the 
famous isthmus of Tehuantepec, separating the waters 
of the Atlantic system from the Pacific. The numerous 
rivers of Oaxaca descend variously to the Pacific Ocean 
and Gulf of Mexico, the latter after traversing the State 
of Vera Cruz. 

The scenery in places is grand and rugged, the mountain 

21 



306 MEXICO 

slopes are covered with thick woods, and the valleys 
with aromatic shrubs and bright-hued flowers, rich with 
animal life. Huge trees tower upwards, their giant limbs 
developed in a way such as only these tropical regions 
afford. 

The agricultural products are similar to those enume- 
rated for the neighbouring maritime states — wheat, barley, 
maize, and textile plants are produced, as also sugar- 
cane, cotton, coffee. The great forests afford oak, pine, 
cedar, mahogany, ebony, and other timber, and excellent 
natural pasturage abounds for cattle-raising, which is an 
important industry. The rich valley of Oaxaca is a 
favoured region, with a mild and healthy climate. To 
enumerate all the plants and products of this exuberant, 
tropical region would be to fill pages with names, but 
it may be said that almost every variety of tropical and 
temperate zone fruit, flower, fibrous plant, cereal, 
vegetable, and timber abound — a flora such as could not 
be surpassed anywhere. There are vast tracts of land in 
this state, of virgin country, consisting of pure alluvial 
soil, waiting population to cultivate it, and the whole 
forms an agricultural region of much promise. 

Railway construction of late years has made the state 
a trans-continental territory. The Tehuantepec railway, 
elsewhere described, has its western terminus at the port 
of Salina Cruz, having traversed the state, and from this 
important route midway across the Isthmus a line of 
railway runs to Oaxaca, the state capital, and so con- 
nects with the main system of the Republic. Some 
years ago a serious outbreak of yellow fever occurred 
upon the isthmus, but improving hygienic measures 
appear to have prevented a recurrence of this, and to 
have diminished the almost inevitable malaria. There 
are other short lines of railway in the state. 

The city of Oaxaca is handsome and interesting, and 
enjoys a temperate climate due to its elevation of more 
than 5,000 feet above sea-level. It justly prides itself 
upon having produced some of Mexico's famous men, 
including Juarez and Porfirio Diaz. 







4- 



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^ tf :i'.«^MniMiaMbv« 



NATURAL RESOURCES 307 

Chiapas is the southernmost of the Mexican states — 
the last upon the Pacific, its eastern boundary forming 
the frontier with the neighbouring RepubHc of Guate- 
mala. Following out the general structure of Mexico's 
littoral, the Sierra Madre parallels the Pacific Ocean here, 
leaving a narrow coast strip, but with a lack of good 
ports and navigable rivers. On the northern side, how- 
ever, the Atlantic watershed, the state is traversed by 
navigable streams which flow to the Gulf of Campeche, 
notably the affluents of the Grijalva and Usumacinta, 
traversing the neighbouring State of Tabasco. 

The country is generally high and healthy, of an 
undulating and picturesque character, and is one of the 
best-watered states of the Republic. There is no barren 
land, except the summits of the rocky ranges, as it forms 
a tropical region tempered by altitude, with correspond- 
ing fertility of soil and profuse vegetation. Forests 
cover the slopes and canyons, and in the valleys and on 
the plains an extensive flora and range of agricultural 
products is encountered common to this zone. 

With an area of 27,250 square miles, the state supports 
a population of about 361,000. The capital is Tuxtla 
Gutierrez, which is reached most easily by navigation in 
low-draught boats up the Grijalva or Mezcalapa river to 
within about seventy miles of the city. A waggon road 
connects the capital with Tonala, a port on the Pacific 
coast, from which a short railway connects with the 
Tehuantepec line, and so with the general railway system. 
But apart from this, the principal means of communica- 
tion are the navigable streams and the waggon roads. 

Agriculture is the principal industry of this state, with 
timber-cutting, cattle-raising, and the production of salt 
from the deposits on the coast. In their relative order of 
importance are sugar-cane, coffee, chocolate, tobacco, 
indigo, whilst fibre, rubber, cereals, alcohol, cattle, and 
other products, as cedar, mahogany, &c., are also 
exported in increasing value. There is, however, much 
room for the improvement and development of agricul- 
ture in this prolific region. The famous ruins of Palenque 
render this state of great interest archaeologically. 



CHAPTER XV 

NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE, GENERAL CONDITIONS 

{continued) 

Central and Atlantic States — Chihuahua and the Rio Grande — Mining, 
forests, railways — Coahuila and its resources — Nuevo Leon and its 
conditions — Iron, coal, railways, textile industries — Durango and its 
great plains and mountain peaks — Aguascalientes — Zacatecas and its 
mineral wealth — San Luis Potosi and its industries — Guanajuato, 
Queretaro and Hidalgo, and their diversified resources — Mexico and 
its mountains and plains — Tlaxcala — Morelos and its sugar-cane 
industry — The rich State of Puebla — Tamaulipas, a littoral state — 
The historic State of Vera Cruz, its resources, towns, and harbour — 
Campeche and the peninsula of Yucatan. 

The states described in this chapter are those which 
mainly occupy : {a) The mesa central, or great plateau, 
and (6) the states which border upon the coast of the 
Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, forming the 
eastern littoral of Mexico, and consequently those nearest 
to European influence. Taking first the plateau states, 
and beginning at the north, the frontier with the United 
States, we have the State of Chihuahua. The area of 
territory embodied in this state, the largest in the 
Republic, is greater than that of Great Britain, having 
an area of some 90,000 square miles, with a population 
of about 330,000. The northern boundary of this state 
is the Rio Grande del Norte, the dividing line between 
it and Texas, and it occupies much of the northern 
portion of the great plateau, and part of the Western 
Sierra Madre, whose summits form its boundary. The 
elevation above sea-level of the plateau portion slopes from 
6,000 to 3,500 feet, and the summits of the Sierra reach 



NATURAL RESOURCES 309 

an altitude in some cases of 10,000 feet. The state 
contains vast tracts of waterless and timberless regions, 
forming arid and monotonous plains, and in some cases 
appalling deserts, but is nevertheless rich elsewhere 
in agricultural, forest, and grazing resources. Mining, 
however, is its principal industry. Manufacturing has 
developed well of late years, and factories for iron and 
steel, clothes, furniture, food-products, &c., are in active 
operation. In some of the mountain regions abundant 
water-power exists, and fine belts of timber. Agriculture 
is carried on both with and without irrigation, and a 
wide range of sub-tropical and temperate-grown food- 
stuffs and fruits are produced. Cattle-raising on the 
extensive natural pastures of the uplands is a prominent 
and increasing industry. The state is traversed from 
north to south by the Mexican Central Railway, and El 
Paso, on the frontier, is one of the main points of entry 
to the Republic from the United States. There are other 
shorter lines built or under construction, but further 
railways are required for adequate development. 

The rapid increase of mining enterprise in this state 
has brought it into first place in the Republic. Important 
gold-mining establishments are in operation, and copper 
is being actively produced. The historic Santa Eulalia 
mine, elsewhere mentioned, has been again made to 
produce, and is a source of great wealth at present to 
its owners. Other details of the mines of this state are 
given in the chapter devoted to mining. 

The capital of the state is the beautiful city of Chi- 
huahua, whose fine public buildings, institutions, and 
considerable commercial movement attest the prosperity 
of this growing centre of Mexican civilisation. A fuller 
description of this capital is given in another chapter. 

Coahuila, with an area of 65,000 square miles, and a 
population of 300,000 inhabitants, is also bounded on 
the north by the Rio Grande and Texas. The state con- 
sists principally of flat plains intersected by small moun- 
tain ranges. The rainfall is generally scarce, although 
abundant at certain seasons in the more mountainou 



310 MEXICO 

regions, whilst the cHmate is very variable, being hot 
and unhealthy in places, although in general terms it 
cannot be pronounced bad. The great plateau of Mexico, 
of which it forms part, comes down to a low elevation 
towards the Rio Grande, whilst the principal mountain 
ranges are offshoots of the Eastern Sierra Madre. Agri- 
culture is carried on mainly under irrigation from canals 
fed from the torrential streams which occur sparsely in 
the state, and great quantities of cotton are grown. The 
cotton belt and industry are most important, and the 
wines of Parras are famous in the country. Coahuila, 
in common with others of its neighbouring states, 
possesses some peculiar topographical conditions — 
portions of it consisting of plains or valleys with no 
hydrographic outlet, as shown in the chapter dealing 
with the orography of the Republic. These in some 
cases form fertile valleys, and, in others, sun-beat deserts, 
uncultivated and uninhabited. 

Notwithstanding its partly sterile nature this state is a 
very prosperous commercial section of the country, due 
largely to its excellent railway system, five different lines 
of which traverse it. These are the Mexican Central, 
the International, the Northern, the National, and other 
lesser systems. In addition there are some fair roads, 
upon which the traveller may journey by diligencia or on 
horseback. The capital, Saltillo, with a population of 
about 25,000, is a pretty and interesting old Spanish 
town, and a valuable commercial centre. Manufacturing 
industries have increased rapidly of late years in this 
state, especially those producing textile fabrics from the 
native cotton. Metal and coal mining are both develop- 
ing in this region ; and new towns, of which Torreon is 
an example, are springing up. The state contains one 
of the principal points of entry to the Republic from 
the United States — Eagle Pass, or Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, 
on the International Railway, whilst Laredo, on the 
National, is near its border. 

Nuevo Leon, which also borders upon the Rio Grande 
and Texas, is much smaller than its neighbouring states — 




U 
H 

o 



:^l.-itAi 



NATURAL RESOURCES 311 

23,750 square miles in area — but has a larger population 
of some 350,000 inhabitants. The state is traversed by 
the Eastern Sierra Madre, the highest summits of which 
are snow-covered. The region consists topographically 
of small plains and well-watered, fertile valleys. Its 
orography gives rise to the presence of numerous 
rivers and streams, all of which are upon the Atlantic 
watershed. These productive valleys, copious streams, 
and the picturesque scenery of the varied landscape, 
afford striking contrast with the appalling deserts which 
the neighbouring States of Coahuila and Chihuahua 
contain, and which are characteristic of the great plateau 
of Anahuac in the north. Cold and bracing in the 
mountains, the climate is temperate upon the high plains, 
and very hot in the low valleys ; whilst the rainfall is 
variable. 

The state is well served with railways, which largely 
account for its prosperity. The great trunk lines which 
traverse it unite it with the railway system of the United 
States, the ports of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, 
and with the capital of the Republic. These main lines 
are, respectively, the International, the Mexican Central, 
the National, and the Monterrey and Gulf. There are in 
addition various smaller systems. 

The capital city of the state, Monterrey, is the fourth 
in point of commercial importance and population in the 
Repubhc. It contains handsome buildings and numerous 
hotels, and its proximity to the United States has had a 
considerable influence on its development. 

Among the state's main resources are its mineral 
deposits, in which coal and iron are important. The 
smelters and steel works at Monterrey, elsewhere 
mentioned in the chapter on mining, are among the most 
important in the country. Agriculture comes second ; the 
extensive forests afford a remarkable variety of timber — 
pine, ebony, walnut, cedar, and others ; whilst cattle- 
raising is a growing industry. And the textile industry 
is well represented, as is brewing and distilling. In 
brief, the state is an example of a prosperous and 



312 MEXICO 

growing Mexican community, largely supplying its own 
wants in raw material and manufactured articles. 

Durango lies upon the great plateau, but an imposing 
Cordillera — the Western Sierra Madre — bounds and 
crosses it on the west, shutting off the State of Sinaloa 
and the Pacific Ocean. North and east great barren 
sun-beat plains stretch their verdureless wastes, inter- 
sected by ranges of sterile hills, both extending into the 
neighbouring States of Chihuahua and Coahuila. Here 
in former times the savage Indians roamed. But before 
entering upon these plains we have traversed the fertile 
country upon the eastern slope of the Western Sierra, 
watered by the various rivers which descend therefrom — 
pleasing landscape and fertile soil. 

The area of the state is 43,750 square miles, and its 
population 380,000. The city of Durango, one of the 
foremost of the fine Spanish-built cities of the Mexican 
tableland, has a population of somewhat more than 
30,000 inhabitants. It stands upon a broad though barren 
plain at the elevation of 6,350 feet above sea-level, and its 
climate is subject to abrupt changes of heat and cold. 

The culminating peaks of the mountain ranges of 
Durango are in some cases singular and beautiful. 
Among these may be cited the splendid granite uplift of 
legendary Teyra,! which rises to an elevation of 9,240 feet 
above sea-level. Its colossal crest towers upwards from 
the tableland, riveting the attention of the traveller from 
all points of the compass by its majesty. From this one 
gets a magnificent view over a vast expanse of country' 
It does not, however, reach the perpetual snow-line* 
although this is passed by Tarahumara of the Sierra 
Madre. This remarkable peak shows the flora of three 
zones — the hot, with bananas and other fruits growing at 
the base of the mountain ; the temperate, where pines 
and other flora of this zone flourish ; and the simple 
cryptogamous plant life of an arctic temperature, cooled 
by the almost perpetual snow above it upon the mountain 
summit. 

^ Visited by the Author. 



NATURAL RESOURCES 313 

The plains of Durango, in common with some of 
those of its native states, present the curious physical 
structure described in another chapter — of having no 
hydrographic outlet. The rivers which flow eastwardly 
from the Sierra, form lakes whose only means of 
exhaustion is by evaporation. Of this nature is 
the great arid tract known as the Bolson of 
Mapimi. The Mexican Nile, the River Nazas, the 
principal stream of the state traverses this, and 
affords the means of irrigation to the numerous cotton 
plantations of the region. These, which constitute an 
important industry, are described in the chapter on 
agriculture. 

The climate varies much according to the topography 
of the region, being temperate or hot according to the 
elevation. In addition to the cotton various agricultural 
products are raised, whilst the mountain uplands yield 
pine, oak, cedar, ash, and other classes of timber. The 
fauna includes leopards, bears, coyotes, peccaries, deer, 
eagles, cranes, pheasants, &c. 

The mining industry in Durango is important. Gold 
and silver are freely found and worked. The great hill of 
iron has been described elsewhere in these pages. Copper 
is abundant; tin, cinnabar, sulphur, and coal exist. The 
numerous mining districts in this state have produced 
much wealth in the past, and mines and reduction 
works are encountered strewn over the mountain 
regions. The great Pefioles ^ mining and smelting 
enterprise at Mapimi is one of the most important in 
the country. The historic Avino silver mines are worked 
by British capital. Other numerous modern mining 
establishments are in operation, which have been 
brought to much perfection by foreign capital and skill. 

Railways are fairly well developed in this state ; the 
International and the Central being those which 
traverse it. 

Zacatecas owes its fame and prosperity in the first 
instance to its mines, which have been worked from the 

' Visited by the Author. 



314 MEXICO 

year 1546 to the present day. The state is situated on 
the great plateau in the centre of the Republic, at an 
average elevation above sea-level of 7,700 feet, but 
embodying a diversified topographical character and 
climate. Cattle, cereals, and agricultural products 
generally, are raised to a certain extent. With an area 
of 25,300 square miles it has a population of about 
500,000. The famous capital city of Zacatecas, as de- 
scribed elsewhere, is served by the Mexican Central 
Railway, which traverses the state ; as does also the 
National. A large number of mines are being worked 
in this state, and new capital is rapidly coming in. 
Foremost among British enterprises are the important 
mines and smelting works of the Mazapil Copper Com- 
pany, at Concepcion del Oro. The field of minerals is a 
vast one, and offers inducement to foreign capital. Gold, 
silver, copper, lead, and quicksilver are all produced, 
but more capital is required. Remarkable as it may 
seem, the high region which composes this state pro- 
duces rubber — the guayule, a plant which grows wild in 
profusion in various parts of the region, and which is in 
much demand. 

The little state of Aguascalientes lies to the south of 
the above region, with an area of somewhat less than 
3,000 square miles and a population of 105,000. Its 
principal source of life is agricultural, but the mineral 
industry is important. The capital city stands at an 
elevation above sea-level of 6,100 feet, and the hot- 
springs of the region give rise to the name of the state 
and city ; which may be described as healthy and 
attractive. It is traversed by the Mexican Central 
Railway. 

San Luis Potosi is a state of much promise in minerals 
and agriculture, but has been kept backward until 
recently from want of foreign capital to exploit its 
natural resources. In former times it was the third 
producer of bullion of the Mexican states for Spain, 
and it shows signs of regaining its former prestige. The 
valleys provide numerous agricultural products ; the 



NATURAL RESOURCES 315 

mountains contain, in certain places, timber, and the sterile 
uplands maguey. To the east rises the Mesa range of 
the Eastern Sierra Madre, and the state generally occu- 
pies the most elevated part of the great plateau, giving 
rise to the coldest climate in the country. The area is 
25,400 square miles, and of its population of about 
580,000 souls more than 60,000 form the inhabi- 
tants of the handsome capital — San Luis Potosi. This 
city is connected with the Port of Tampico on the Gulf 
of Mexico, by the Mexican Central Railway, which 
descends to the coast by an exceedingly picturesque and 
interesting route. The Mexican National Railway also 
traverses the state, connecting it with the City of Mexico. 
The important ore smelting works of the Metalurgica 
Mexicana Company are situated here, and have proved a 
stimulus to the works of the great mineral resources of 
the state. The famous Catorce mining district is situated 
in this state, and some well-equipped modern installations 
exist here. The rich Huasteca district, and other regions, 
form an alluring field for capitalists. 

Guanajuato, Queretaro, and Hidalgo form a group of 
smaller states which have held a prominent place in the 
earlier history of Mexico, due principally to the extra- 
ordinary production of silver and gold from their mines, 
which has made the names of these famous the world 
over. These have been touched upon in the chapters 
devoted to mining, and the capital cities spoken of else- 
where. Most of the important mines are again producing 
mainly under modern methods, and the value of the 
output for the State of Guanajuato last year is calcu- 
lated as fourteen million dollars. 

The diversified character of the topography and con- 
sequently of the climate of this region, forming the 
southern part of the great plateau, gives rise to much 
variety of nature's resources and agricultural products, 
from sugar-cane to cereals, and indeed agriculture in 
some cases is the staple industry. Numerous streams 
permit the irrigation of the fertile valleys which abound 
in this part of Mexico. In some cases we may journey 



316 MEXICO 

in a few hours from the tropical lowlands to the regions 
of pine and oak, and the cold and cloudy climate of the 
high mining districts. Great plains and plantations of 
maguey exist upon the tableland for the making of 
pulque, Hidalgo alone having 129 haciendas devoted to 
this industry. In some portions of these states the 
scenery is wild and picturesque in the extreme, varying 
from the soft and undulating to the stupendous. The 
rivers generally belong to the Atlantic watershed, flowing 
through the Eastern Sierra Madre to the Gulf of Mexico, 
debouching at Tampico as the great Panuco river. 

The State of Guanajuato, with an area of about 11,000 
square miles, supports one of the largest of populations 
of any state, reaching to 1,065,000 inhabitants, and this 
is increasing, due to the growing industries of the region. 
Queretaro, with an area and population of 4,500 square 
miles and 235,000 inhabitants, is one of the smallest of 
the states. Its capital city, of the same name, is of much 
interest historically, for here Maximilian fell. Some 
important industries are carried on, among them being 
the largest textile factory in the Republic, the great 
"Hercules" mills. The famous "Doctor" mine, vast 
producer in past history, is one of the remarkable features 
of this state, whilst in the adjoining state of Hidalgo are 
the great mines and ore-treating haciendas near the 
capital city, Pachuca. Real del Monte with its remark- 
able metallurgical achievements is a byeword in the 
annals of silver. Cold and cloudy, these high regions — 
Pachuca is 8,000 feet above the level of the sea — are in 
marked contrast to the warm valleys which, below the 
belt of oak and pines upon the mountain slopes, are 
reached in our downward journey. The area of this 
very diversified state is 85,900 square miles, and its popu- 
lation some 605,000 souls. The Mexican Central and 
National Railways serve these three states. 

The State of Mexico comprises a rich and interesting 
region. It is the seat of the capital, the famous City of 
Mexico. With the little adjoining State of Tlaxcala it was 
the home of the Aztec and other republics or oligarchies 



NATURAL RESOURCES 317 

of prehispanic days. Here is the classic lake of Texcoco, 
and on the south of the valley the famous peaks which 
rise beyond the perpetual snow-line — Popocatepetl, Ix- 
taccihuatl, and the Nevado of Toluca — rear their gleaming 
crests. In this region Nature has been profuse with her 
resources — a rich and va.ned flora and astonishing wealth 
of gold and silver. Here the mines of El Oro give up a 
stream, of gold to foreign pockets — principally British — 
the result of Anglo-Saxon enterprise of recent years. 

The state is mountainous, with the great culminating 
peaks before mentioned ; but extensive plains and fertile 
valleys occupy much of its area, with grassy uplands in 
the higher regions. The Lerma river is the chief water- 
course, born near the snows of Toluca, and after long 
winding over several states it traverses the Western Sierra 
and falls into the Pacific Ocean. The cold plains and 
temperate zone produce abundant supplies of maguey 
and cereals ; oak and pine and cedar grow freely in 
the mountain timber belts, whilst the list of agricultural 
products and fruits, from sugar-cane and tobacco 
upwards, almost exhausts the flora of the country. 
Water-power is a valuable asset of the state, the 
numerous streams furnishing power for the plant of 
numerous manufactories — woollen, cotton, electric light, 
flour mills, and others. The area of the state is 8,950 
square miles, with a population of nearly a million 
inhabitants. The fine haciendas which dot the state, 
and the important industries and cities, form a rich 
and important centre of Mexican civilisation. All the 
main lines of railway connect this state with the rest 
of the Republic. 

The little State of Tlaxcala, which bounds that of 
Mexico on the east, has an area of 1,700 square miles 
and population of 173,000 — the smallest of the political 
divisions of the Republic. Above the clay and sand 
plains of this state rises the beautiful Malinche peak 
to a height of 14,720 feet above sea-level, crowned 
generally with snow, which fancy has pictured in the 
form of a woman. The principal agricultural products 



318 MEXICO 

are maguey and cereals, from which a large revenue is 
derived by the haciendas devoted to the industry. The 
city of Tlaxcala was the site of memorable scenes of 
the conquest of Mexico, and its brave inhabitants were 
the fierce foes first, and the faithful allies afterwards, 
of Cortes and his Spaniards, as has been described in 
the historical portion of these pages. The ancient 
ramparts, built by the Tlaxcalans, existed up to the 
seventeenth century. 

Morelos is a small state lying south of Mexico, with 
an area somewhat less than 2,000 square miles and a 
population of 160,000. This state might almost be 
termed a vast sugar-cane plantation, as the greater part 
of its cultivable territory is given over to this branch 
of agriculture — grown under irrigation principally from 
the rivers which flow from the perpetual snow-caps of 
Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. Correspondingly, the 
principal industry is that of sugar and rum-making, for 
which industry there exist numerous haciendas, equipped 
in most cases with modern machinery. The historical 
and archaeological associations and remains of the state 
are of much interest. Cuernavaca, the picturesque 
capital, which is the centre of these, is much of a 
favourite health resort since it became connected by 
railway with the City of Mexico. The Franciscan 
church carries us back to 1539, and the palace of 
Cortes and the gardens of Maximilian bring into 
recollection episodes of the history of this romantic 
region of the Pacific slope. The climate invites to 
dalliance, and the varied landscape — canyon, forest, and 
stream — open out in their pleasurable variety as we make 
our way westward. The small, quaint, Spanish-built 
towns with their Indian names, such as Tetecala,i 
Tequezquitengo, and others, seem to carry us back to 
the Middle Ages. This latter village was inundated and 
lost from the waters employed in the irrigation of the 
valleys. The various streams which cross the state have 
their outlet to the great Balsas river, which drains the 
* Visited by the Author. 



NATURAL RESOURCES 319 

eastern slope of the Sierra Madre, falling thence into 
the Pacific Ocean. The Mexican Central and the Inter- 
oceanic Railways connect the chief towns of Morelos 
with the City of Mexico, traversing the interesting and 
rugged routes of this region. 

Puebla is one of the most important of the Mexican 
states — both in natural resources and in its general 
flourishing condition. It occupies the region south of 
the great tableland, extending beyond this, however, 
both to the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds, its central 
part forming the divortia aquarimi of the continent in 
this portion, its rivers on the west running to the Pacific 
Ocean and those on the east to the Gulf of Mexico through 
the State of Vera Cruz. In the northern part of this 
region the mountains form a scattered group, unlike the 
Cordilleras of the Sierra Madre of other parts of Mexico. 
The topography and scenery are rugged and picturesque. 
The northern mountains include the Sierra Nevada, 
which form the boundary of the valley of Mexico and 
the great plateau. Here rise the beautiful snow-capped 
peaks which are so prominent a feature of this part of 
Mexico — Popocatepetl (17,300 feet), Ixtaccihuatl (15,700 
feet), Malintzin (13,462 feet), and others, on the boundary 
with the States of Puebla and Mexico. Orizaba (18,250 
feet) and the Cofre de Perote (13,400 feet), on the border 
of the State of Vera Cruz, descend to high-spreading 
tablelands, watered only by the snows of these mountains, 
as they are riverless. The beautiful valley wherein the 
capital city of Puebla is situated, some short distance 
to the east of Popocatepetl and its sister peak, is, how- 
ever, traversed by the remarkable river Atoyac which, 
rising beyond the borders of the state, forms the head- 
waters of the great Balsas river, debouching, after a 
trajectory of more than four hundred miles, into the 
Pacific. 

The area of this state is 12,200 square miles, sustain- 
ing more than a million inhabitants. Agriculture, and 
industries and manufacture depending thereon are the 
sources of wealth and property ; mining occupies a 



320 MEXICO 

relatively small place, although minerals abound, and 
onyx and coal are famous among them. The valley 
of Puebla draws its varied sources of life largely from 
the Atoyac river, whose hydrographic basin forms a 
fertile region probably superior to any in the Republic. 
Level tracts of land and undulating valleys are irrigated 
freely from this river, giving huge crops of cereals, and 
numerous mills producing textile fabrics are actuated by 
the water-power it affords. The slopes of the mountains 
to the north are covered with forests whose stores of 
timber are a little-exploited source of wealth at present. 
The southerly region forms a tropical zone where the 
products corresponding to its climate abound — as cotton, 
coffee, sugar-cane, and others. Here the state extends to 
the borders of Guerrero and Oaxaca. 

The city of Puebla is the second in the Republic and 
contains nearly 95,000 inhabitants. It is an important 
seat of Mexican civilisation, of which the Republic is 
justly proud and, indeed, its state of prosperity and 
consequent advanced civilisation are noteworthy. The 
productions of the numerous industries and factories in 
the district are exported to all the main centres of 
the Republic, especially the textile fabrics, and also to 
Central and South American countries. The central 
portion of the state is traversed by several main lines 
of railway, as the International and the Mexico and 
Vera Cruz, whilst the Mexican Southern unites it with 
Oaxaca and the Tehuantepec Railway. The archaeo- 
logical remains of Cholula — the prehistoric ruins else- 
where described — lend much interest to the diversified 
and beautiful State of Puebla. 

We have now to consider the Atlantic, or Mexican 
Gulf littoral States. 

Tamaulipas is one of the frontier states bordering upon 
the United States ;its northern frontier adjoining Texas, 
from which it is divided by the Rio Grande or Bravo. 
On its eastern side it is washed by the Gulf of Mexico, 
its littoral extending along the Gulf for more than 260 



NATURAL RESOURCES 321 

miles — from the estuary of the Rio Grande or Bravo, to 
that of the Panuco river at Tampico. Topographically, 
the state consists of the coast plains, occupying about 
two-thirds of its area, and the mountainous or hilly 
region of the eastern slope of the Eastern Sierra Madre, 
of the remainder. The area is 29,340 square miles, and 
the population 190,000. The rivers of the state are 
numerous, notably the Conchas, the Soto la Marina, and 
the Tamesi, all falling into the Gulf of Mexico ; and great 
lagoons — as the Laguna Madre, 125 miles long — border 
upon the coast, separated from the sea, in some places 
only by a ridge of narrow sand-dunes. The Laguna 
Madre has become dried up, however, due to the silting 
up of its channels. 

The climate varies much, the coast being hot and in 
places unhealthy, subject to the diseases peculiar to those 
regions, although it has been found that drainage and 
sanitary measures have worked a remarkable change at 
the formerly unhealthy port of Tampico. The moun- 
tainous regions of the Sierra Madre bound the state 
on the west, with a cool climate and temperate uplands, 
and the climate as a whole is considered superior to that 
of Coahuila. 

The development of this state has not kept pace with 
that of its neighbours, due to lack of railways, capital, 
and labour. But it is a region of rich and varied natural 
resources, whether in minerals or agriculture. The 
beautiful valleys of the temperate region are capable 
of a greatly extended agricultural development, and 
valuable forests extend over both mountains and plain- 
land. The vegetation of the region is very varied. All 
the tropical and some of the temperate zone fruits are 
raised, as well as corn, coffee, and chocolate, whilst india- 
rubber is a product of the state. Of timber a great 
variety exists, including oak, cedar, mahogany, pine, 
beech, ebony, &c. An important industry is the growing of 
fibre-producing plants, especially the henequen and ixtUy 
and there are many haciendas engaged in this remunera- 
tive branch of agriculture. Active irrigation work is 

22 



322 MEXICO 

required in this state, from the numerous streams which 
cross it, as agriculture must be largely dependent upon 
this, and there is no doubt that this will be accomplished 
as more attention is drawn to the resources of the region 
and capital attracted thereto. Mining is carried on to 
some extent, especially in copper, whilst the petroleum 
and asphalt deposits are a source of wealth to their 
owners. But, so far, mining is little developed and, 
although the possibilities for the production of minerals 
are generally little known, there is no doubt that they are 
extensive. The capital of the state is Victoria, with a 
population of some 10,000 inhabitants. It is connected 
with the seaport of Tampico, on the Gulf of Mexico — the 
main seaport of the state and, indeed, the second in 
importance upon the coast — by the Monterrey and 
Mexican Gulf Railway. Another of the principal gate- 
ways of the Republic exists in this state — that of the 
frontier town of Laredo, at which point the Mexican 
National Railway crosses the Rio Grande into Texas. 
With its little-known regions and considerable possi- 
bilities, the State of Tamaulipas, although somewhat 
off the main routes of travel, is a region of much 
interest. It offers some attraction to tourists in its 
sea-bathing and Tarpon fishing upon the coast. 

Vera Cruz, the famous and historical state of the Gulf 
of Mexico, the gateway of the Conquistadores and the 
principal route of entry of the European traveller of 
to-day, lies along the shore of Mexico for a length of 
435 miles. It extends from the Panuco river at Tampico, 
curving round the Gulf shore to the south and east, past 
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, to the border of Chiapas 
and Tabasco. Its area is 29,000 square miles, and its 
population falls somewhat short of a million inhabi- 
tants. 

The topography of the state is that remarkable one 
typical of the physical structure of Mexico — of hot coast 
plains, temperate higher regions, and the cold uplands 
of the Sierra Madre mountains and the great tableland of 
the interior. The rugged character for which this region 




< « 

2 f2 



5 ^ 



NATURAL RESOURCES 323 

is famous lies beyond the coast plains, which, except in a 
few places, are sandy and undulating, but, as elevation is 
gained, these give place to a region of tropical vegetation 
so exuberant as is encountered in few other regions. 

The state is well watered, there being forty or more 
rivers and streams of importance, some of them being 
navigable for a distance of thirty-five miles from their 
mouths for deep-draught ships, others forming means of 
irrigation and motive power throughout the region, whilst 
numerous lakes and lagoons exist. Among the navigable 
rivers are those of Coatzacoalcos, San Juan, Tonto, 
Papaloapam, Tuxpam, Casones. The scenery is ex- 
tremely picturesque in places, changing to the stupendous 
as the mountains are approached. Profound valleys, 
covered with a wealth of tropical vegetation, or crops, are 
seen lying thousands of feet below the sheer descent of 
the abrupt slopes, up which the railway ascends to the 
great plateau of Anahuac — views such as command the 
admiration of the traveller. 

The natural resources of the state are varied and 
plentiful to a remarkable degree. Cotton, sugar, tobacco, 
coffee, rubber are among the products of this rich region, 
a source of wealth to the state, for these articles find 
ready export, due to their superior quality. The forest 
timbers are plentiful and varied — cedar, mahogany, pine, 
ebony, walnut, and dyewoods are products of these 
immense forests. The export of cattle, both to other 
states and abroad, is important. Manufactories for 
textile goods, tobacco, sugar, and other products, 
abound. As for mining, it is entirely overshadowed by 
the great agricultural wealth, and minerals are scarcely 
exploited, so far, although iron, copper, silver, and gold 
exist, whilst the petroleum deposits will doubtless form 
a source of wealth. The state is traversed by the 
Tehuantepec railway, elsewhere described. 

The city of Vera Cruz, although it does not occupy 
the exact site of the landing of the ConquistadoreSf 
is nevertheless of historic fame, since its site was changed 
m 1599. But it acquired not only fame, but an evil 



324 MEXICO 

reputation for its insalubrity, the dreaded yellow 
fever being its most persistent scourge. The scientific 
work undertaken of recent years, however, in combating 
this, and in the destruction of mosquito larvae, show 
that fever and malaria can be eliminated on this coast, 
and to-day the port and city are not unhealthy ; and 
the principal scavengers are no longer the zopilotes, 
although these birds flap their wings in the city streets, 
in the faces of the inhabitants. Vera Cruz is connected 
with the City of Mexico by the famous old Mexican Rail- 
way, whose construction was begun half a century ago, 
and by the Interoceanic. In sight of the traveller as he 
ascends from the coast is Orizaba, one of Mexico's 
highest snow-crowned peaks, visible indeed from among 
the waves of the stormy Gulf. This was the way the 
Spaniards came, and is described elsewhere in these 
pages. The new port works of Vera Cruz is a solid 
engineering structure, built at a cost of ;^4,ooo,ooo, and 
renders the harbour safe for shipping. 

Still following the littoral of the Mexican Gulf, or rather 
the Gulf of Campeche, are the small States of Tabasco 
and Campeche, forming part of the frontier with the 
neighbouring Republic of Guatemala. The area of the 
first is 10,100 square miles, and population of about 
175,000 inhabitants. This state possesses two of the 
principal navigable rivers of Mexico, the Grijalva, named 
after the first European to set foot in Mexico, and the 
Usumacinta, navigable for 180 and 77 miles, respectively. 
The flat topographical character of the state gives rise to 
various lakes and coast lagoons, but the anchoring grounds 
for ships are not generally in the nature of good harbours. 
The climate is hot, but often tempered by the winds 
blowing from the Gulf. Malaria is prevalent in places, 
but yellow fever has diminished or disappeared. The 
principal articles of export are the dye woods and timber, 
hides, coffee, tobacco, and rubber. Cocoa and sugar- 
cane are among its leading agricultural products. There 
is but one railway in this somewhat isolated state, its 
means of communication being principally by water 



NATURAL RESOURCES 325 

and road. The capital, San Juan Bautista, is situated 
upon the Grijalva river. 

Campeche has an area of 18,000 square miles and a 
population of some 87,000 inhabitants, and its capital 
city of the same name, lying upon the coast, 18,000. 
This is also the principal port, and it is united by 
a railway to Merida and Progreso, in Yucatan. The 
principal rivers are navigable in the rainy season and for 
small boats generally. The soil is fertile and agriculture 
is the main industry, but is kept backward from lack of 
sufficient labour and means of communication. Attention 
is being turned to the cultivation of henequen, which has 
given favourable results in the neighbouring state of 
Yucatan. Irrigation is necessary for the crops in this 
region. The principal products, however, are the dye- 
woods — famous for their quality — and timber, including 
cedar and mahogany ; sugar-cane, maize, and rice are 
produced, and the inevitable chicle — chewing gum — for 
export to New York, whilst the numerous fruits of the 
tropical zone are freely raised. The great tracts of virgin 
forests and unutilised resources of the state call for 
foreign capital, and the Americans are those who have 
responded principally. Chinese and Korean labour are 
employed to a certain extent, as well as Jamaica negroes. 
Some of the plantations have light railway lines, and 
several steam railways are projected or under construction. 
Shipbuilding is an old-established industry of this coast, 
and the first vessel to carry the Mexican flag to Europe 
was constructed, it is stated, at Campeche. 

The State of Yucatan stretches over the greater part of 
the area of this remarkable peninsula, from which it takes 
its name. With its eastern part — the region known as the 
Territory of Quintana Roo — it is a neighbour of the British 
Empire, bordering as it does upon British Honduras, or 
Belize. To the south it adjoins the Republic of Guatemala. 
Its area is 35,200 square miles, with a population of about 
300,000 inhabitants. Similar in character to the rest of 
the peninsula this state consists of one vast plain, of 
small elevation above the level of the sea, its fiat topo- 



326 MEXICO 

graphy being relieved only by a low range of hills towards 
the centre, running northwards into Campeche, whose 
greatest altitude does not reach 3,000 feet. 

The capital city, Merida, lies in the north-west part of 
the state. This is a vast flat region of dreary aspect, 
unwatered by rivers or streams, arid and dry, stretching to 
the Bay of Campeche on the one hand, and the great 
Terminos lagoon. This desolate region, nevertheless, 
affords the main source of wealth of the state, and that 
for which it has become famous, the henequen, or Sisal 
hemp, the valuable fibre-producing plant which grows 
there in millions. In this region are the curious wells, 
or natural ground-caves of water, which excite the notice 
of the traveller, and which appear to be connected with 
underground streams. 

Other agricultural products are sugar-cane and cereals, 
whilst there are extensive woods of valuable timber, 
bordering upon Guatemala and British Honduras, 
including the famous dye-woods, and other classes for 
constructional purposes. In the southern part of the 
state also, there is a great zone of fertile land, crossed 
by various streams and rivers of small hydrographic 
importance. 

The coast-line of the Peninsula of Yucatan is more 
than 600 miles in length, extending round three sides 
of the peninsula. The climate of the eastern coast is 
rendered torrid by the heat of the Gulf Stream, which 
sweeps between it and the island of Cuba. The principal 
port, Progreso, is an open roadstead where no shelter is 
obtained, the old abandoned port of Sisal being superior. 
Some score of miles off the north-east coast is the island 
of Cozumel, where Cortes first landed on his voyage of 
the Conquest. Yucatan contains the remarkable ruins 
of the Maya civilisation — a field of great research. These 
splendid remains of prehispanic architecture are of the 
utmost interest and beauty, and have received much 
attention from famous archaeologists. The great forests 
of the state, extending over a large area of territory, 
are the habitat of a varied fauna, including the panther, 



NATURAL RESOURCES 327 

the tapir, wild boars, boa constrictor, crocodile, and 
other ferocious kinds, as well as deer, and a variety of 
bright-plumaged birds. Yucatan is without minerals, its 
geological formation being of the younger sedimentary 
rocks. 

The Territory of Quintana Roo, before mentioned, was 
separated from Yucatan, due to its long possession by the 
Maya Indian tribes, who, however, have now been over- 
come, and are under peaceful control. The population 
is only about 3,000. The topographical formation is 
similar to that of Yucatan, great calcareous, undulating 
plains of recent geological times. The climate is hot, 
tempered at times by the sea breezes and the heavy rains. 
There are no streams, except the Hondo river, flowing 
into British Honduras, but the land is watered to a certain 
extent by the cenoies, as the rain-water deposits in the 
calcareous rock are termed, which supposedly are 
connected with subterranean streams. This territory is 
the home of the descendants of the Mayas, some of the 
most intelligent of Mexico's aboriginal people to-day, and 
they long resisted, and until a few years ago, the control 
of the Mexican Government. The territory borders upon 
British Honduras — Belize — and the supplying of arms by 
British traders to the insurrectionary people a few years 
ago caused much trouble to the Mexican Government and 
became the matter of diplomatic discussion. All this is 
now duly settled, and the region is in a tranquil state. 

The remarkable variety of natural products and 
conditions of the states forming the Federal Republic 
are thus shown. Each state has its proper machinery 
of government, civil control, and education, and each is 
working out its own destiny, slowly, but surely, in con- 
junction with its neighbours of the Federation. 



CHAPTER XVI 

MEXICAN FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, AND RAILWAYS 

Financial rise of Mexico — Tendencies towards restriction against foreigners 
— National control of railways — Successful financial administration 
— Favourable budgets — Good trade conditions — Foreign liabilities — 
Character of exports and imports — Commerce with foreign nations 
— Banks and currency — Principal industries — Manufacturing con- 
ditions — Labour, water-power, and electric installations — Textile indus- 
try, tobacco, iron and steel, paper, breweries, etc. — Railways — The 
Mexican Railway — The Mexican Central Railway — The National Rail- 
road — The Interoceanic — Government consolidation — The Tehuan- 
tepec railway — Port of Salina Cruz — Other railway Rystems. 

The rise of Mexico, within a few years, from the position 
of a poor and somewhat discredited state to that of a 
nation with a regular budget surplus, and a credit in 
European markets which provides her with loans without 
other security than her good faith, has been very generally 
acclaimed as the beginning of a new era in the Spanish- 
American world. 

Previous to the year 1893 it had never happened in the 
history of Mexico that the nation's income exceeded its 
expenditure. The country had always spent more than 
it earned, and year after year its budget showed heavy 
deficits, with an ever-menacing condition resulting 
thereon. But that unfortunate state belongs now to past 
history, and since the weathering of the storm of the 
silver crisis of 1894 Mexico has had no relapse, and the 
budget has shown an unbroken and increasing balance 
in favour of the Treasury. This satisfactory financial 
condition is partly consequent upon the general world- 
march of commerce and the era of progress which has 

328 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 329 

dawned for the Spanish-American world generally. It 
was time that such should occur ! But, apart from these 
general causes, or rather closely allied thereto, as regards 
Mexico, has been the efficient political administration 
which the country has enjoyed, and the able financial 
control of its resources and revenue. The name of the 
presiding genius of the financial department of Mexico's 
administration has become well known in financial circles 
connected with Mexico — Sefior Limautour — and this 
chapter would be incomplete if it were not recorded. 
As Secretary of Hacienda, or Department of Finance, 
this cautious and able statesman has been the instrument 
for his country's financial progress, for the stability of 
Mexico's internal government has, of course, impulsed the 
advent of foreign capital into the country, in the form of 
investments in railway, mining, and industrial enterprise. 

Mexico's credit and prosperity thus satisfactorily estab- 
lished, the country is enabled to move with a certain spirit 
of independence as regards its foreign financial trans- 
actions. The last year or so have shown a marked 
tendency on the part of the Government to consider their 
position as regards foreign capitalists, and to act to the 
end of obtaining greater benefits for the nation from 
the exploitation of the country's resources, which has 
principally been carried on by foreign capital. No one 
who views the matter disinterestedly will see cause for 
complaint in this attitude. It is a poor philosophy which 
would permit the mines, fields, and railways of a country 
to be drained of their wealth only for the benefit of 
foreigners. On the other hand, of course, railways and 
mines would never have been opened up without foreign 
capital, and the distinction between national philosophy, 
and ingratitude, must always be an important considera- 
tion for Spanish-American countries. 

Mexico, however, does not discourage foreign capital, 
but only seeks a proper control of her natural wealth. 
In earlier years the country was the happy hunting-ground 
of hordes of concession hunters, speculators, and financial 
jugglers, whose main object was to get something for 



\ 



330 MEXICO 

nothing, and sell it for a round sum in Europe or 
America, and they were often successful. At that time 
Mexico wanted her railways built at any cost, but the 
situation has changed now, although not in a way 
to discourage reputable investors. This tendency to 
restriction has shown itself mainly in two directions : 
that of the recent consolidation of the railway systems, 
whose integrity was menaced by the attempted operations 
of certain American trusts and financial groups ; and, 
later, by commercial conditions unfavourable to traffic 
returns. This brought about the decision of the State to 
acquire a controlling interest and voice in the ownership 
of the main railway lines, and this has been carried out 
by means of the purchase of stock in two of these lines, 
the Mexican National and Mexican Central Railways. 
These railways are two great arteries of travel, as else- 
where described, connecting the City of Mexico with the 
United States. This action of the Mexican Government, 
which is somewhat of a novel procedure, and an attempt 
to carry out the problem of State co-operation with 
private enterprise, is conceded to be advantageous to 
the interests of the two combined companies to a large 
extent, whilst it secures to the country the working of 
the lines in the interest of the country, and eliminates the 
possible element of "rate-war" competition. On the 
other hand, it is to be recollected that State ownership 
and working of railways is generally disastrous, especially 
in North or South America, where State enterprise tends 
to become a corrupt political machine. But it is far 
from probable that this condition will be brought about 
in this instance, and the operation will serve rather as an 
object lesson. 

Another restrictive tendency is shown in the bringing 
forward, recently, of a Bill for the enacting of a law 
that mining property should only be acquirable by 
citizens of the Republic, and this, although it has been 
shelved, is likely to be brought forward in future years. 
Such matters are inevitable in the course of time, and 
the policy of inducing foreign capital to enter a new 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 331 

country, which is absolutely necessary to its well-being, 
has naturally to undergo some modification when such a 
country reaches a certain stage of development. 

The present stable condition of Mexican Government 
finance is shown by the budget statements for the fiscal 
year 1908-1909, as presented by the Minister of Finance. 
The figures are as follows, in round numbers : — 

Mez. Dols. 

Estimated normal revenue ... 103,385,000 

Estimated normal expenditure 103,204,000 

181,000 

As before stated, an annual surplus has been forth- 
coming since the year 1895, with some fluctuations. 
Out of these increasing surpluses large sums have been 
spent upon important public works, which have been 
elements for the commercial development of the country 
and its growing trade. In addition to this, foreign loans 
have been contracted for the completion of such public 
works. The loan of 1905, for the sum of 40 million dollars 
gold, was placed with bankers of London, New York, 
Berlin, and Amsterdam, the bonds being purchased at 89 
per cent, of their nominal value, free of commission, 
carrying only 4 per cent, interest. It is interesting to 
compare this operation with Mexico's first loan, consum- 
mated in London in 1823, for 16 million pesos, which 
was bought by the contracting firm at 50 per cent. But 
it is to be recollected that the Holy Alliance was at 
work then, and that the belief was rampant that Spain 
would recover her lost colonies ! ^ 

If the position of Mexico's treasury is satisfactory, that 
of the general business of the nation is also upon an 
excellent footing, as shown by the returns for imports and 
exports. Those for the financial year ending June, 1907, 
are as follows : — 

4 

Total imports 23,336,300 

Total exports 24,801,800 

Balance in favour of exports ;^i.465,5oo 

' See page 125. 



332 



MEXICO 



Whilst the figures quoted in these and the following 
tables for the fiscal year of 1907 may be looked upon as 
showing the normal condition and growth, the figures 
for 1908 have shown a considerable decrease, amounting 
to more than a million sterling on the imports, and more 
than half a million in the exports. In both cases, 
however, they are in excess of the amounts for the year 
1906. The principal decrease is in the trade with the 
United States, and in fact, the fluctuation has been 
brought about by the monetary stringency that has pre- 
vailed in Mexico following upon the financial crisis in 
the United States, which has affected business to a con- 
siderable extent. It must take a year or so for these 
conditions to right themselves, but they are far from 
being permanent. 

It is to be recollected that Mexico is called upon to pay 
large sums annually to the foreign holders of her National 
Debt, which calls for ;^2,4oo,ooo, and to the railway 
bondholders, in ;^2,5oo,ooo, and other amounts paid out 
as dividends by the banks to various private enterprises, 
a total which, of course, largely exceeds the trade balance 
due to exports, and which is covered by the investment of 
foreign capital in the country. 

The character and value of the imported articles for 
the year and sum above given, which are instructive as 
showing the present wants of Mexico, are shown in the 
following table, year 1906-1907 : — 



Animal substances 
Vegetable substances 
Mineral substances 
Textile products 
Chemical products 
Wines and liquors 
Paper, etc. 
Machinery, etc. 

Vehicles 

Arms, explosives 
Miscellaneous ... 





i 




1,923.400 




3,173,100 




8,287,200 




2,650,000 




950,700 




729,600 




602,700 




2,773,600 




900,000 




390,800 




955,400 




;^23,336,30o 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 333 

The exports for the similar period, as detailed in the 
following table, with their values, show the wide range 
of Mexican products which are purchased by other 
countries. Fractions are omitted : 



Mineral Products. 

Mexican gold coin 

Foreign gold coin 

Gold bullion 

Other gold 

Mexican silver coin 

Foreign silver coin 

Silver bullion 

Other silver 

Copper 

Lead 

Zinc 

Antimony 

Other mineral products 

Total mineral products 



3,000 

1,000 

1,890,600 

492,800 

2,452,200 

16,800 

6.319,100 

1,986,800 

2,801,800 

364,500 

201,000 

142,700 

119,300 

;fi6,246,ooo 



Vegetable Products. 


£ 


Henequen (hemp) 


.. 3,144,000 


Coffee 


.. 723,700 


India-rubber and guayulc 


667,900 


Pease 


408,500 


Ixtle fibre 


381,300 


Vanilla 


266,200 


Timber 


217,000 


C/u'c/e (chewing gum) 


214,500 


Tobacco, raw 


189,500 


Broom root 


183,100 


Frijol beans 


86,370 


Dyewood 


74,000 


Fresh fruits 


34,000 


Mulberry wood 


9,500 


Guayule, raw 


6,100 



With other vegetable products, giving a 
total of 



;^7,i8i,ooo 



Animal Products. 



Cattle 

Hides and skins 
Other matters .. 



£ 

156,000 

887,500 

76,700 



Total 



;^I, 115,200 



334 MEXICO 

Manufactured Products. £ 



Sugar 

Cotton seed, meat and cakes 

Palmetto hats 

Tobacco 

Tanned hides, &c 



116,400 

84,630 

63,120 

50,000 

3,500 



With other matters making a total of ... £377,000 



By the foregoing it is seen that the export of precious 
metal is equal approximately to half the total. Mexican 
silver coinage is exported largely to the Orient, and silver 
bullion to Europe ; whilst among vegetable products the 
hemp exports take nearly half the total value. Mexico's 
principal market for most of her staple food and textile 
products is at home, so the export is small. 

By far the greater part of Mexico's trade is done with 
her northern neighbour, the United States, and the 
following table shows how the various countries of the 
world rank in their commerce with the Republic, 
according to the figures for the year IQ06-1907, in 
£ sterling, with fractions omitted. ^ 

Country, 

Great Britain 

Germany 

France ... ... .,. 

Belgium 

Spain 

With other countries, European 

total 

United States 

Canada 

Central America 

South America 

West Indies 

Sum Total 

Thus the commerce of Mexico is seen to be in a 
satisfactory and growing condition, and it may be 
' Adduced from the ' Mexican Year Book, 1908." 



Exports. 

£ 

3,187,000 


Imports. 

£ 

2,360,000 


2,011,000 
805,500 
538,000 


2,450,000 

1,760,000 

300,000 


300,000 


800,000 


6,850,000 

17,581,000 

45,700 

79,000 


8,330,000 

14,638,000 

45,000 

7,000 


10,000 


39,000 


237,000 


19,000 


24,800,000 


23,336,000 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 335 

expected to develop steadily, as the large unworked 
areas of minerals and agricultural land become opened 
up by both native and foreign capital, towards which 
there is an increasing tendency to investment. 

Banks and Currency. — The chartered banks of Mexico 
are considered to be solid institutions, and their past 
history has been a creditable one. The leading banks 
are : the National Bank of Mexico, with a capital of 
;^3,20o,ooo, and reserves of ;^2,675,ooo ; the Bank of 
London and Mexico, capital ^2,150,000, reserve fund, 
;^i,5oo,ooo ; the Mexican Central Bank, capital 
;^3,ooo,ooo ; and various other mortgage and commerce 
banks, clearing house, &c. ; whilst throughout the state 
capitals are the respective chartered banks of such states, 
as the banks of Chihuahua, Yucatan, Durango, Zacatecas, 
&c., &c. The total capital of all Mexican banks is given 
as nearly ;^2o,25o,ooo. The currency of Mexico is now 
established on the gold basis. Previous to the year 1905 
a bimetallic system had always prevailed in Mexico, a 
gold and silver currency ; and as Mexico was one of the 
largest producers of silver in the world she had naturally 
encouraged the use of the white metal, whose coinage 
at the mint was free ; whilst the demand in the Orient for 
Mexican dollars was a stimulant to the production of 
these. The fall in the price of silver was, to a certain 
extent, beneficial rather than inimical to Mexican 
industry, as it had the effect of stimulating home manu- 
facture in a country whose raw material and labour was 
paid for in silver. This would have been permanently 
beneficial had the value remained constant, but the 
continual fluctuation in the price had an unfavourable 
effect on commerce, and a monetary commission decided 
that the gold basis should be adopted, and this became 
law accordingly ; the Mexican peso or dollar being of a 
value of half an American dollar, or equal to approxi- 
mately 2s. of British currency. 

Principal Industries. — These have already been spoken 
of in the chapters dealing with mining and agriculture. 
There are throughout the country more than 150 metallur- 



336 MEXICO 

gical establishments, native and foreign, which treat the 
mineral ores from the mines, either by amalgamation, 
lixiviation, or smelting. The principal smelting works 
are those of the American Smelting and Refining Com- 
pany, of New York, with a copper smelter at Aguasca- 
lientes of 2,000 tons daily capacity, and others at 
Monterrey, Chihuahua, and Durango, well-equipped 
modern establishments ; the Compania Metalurgica 
Mexicana, also of New York, with a large plant at 
San Luis Potosi, and other enterprises in various parts 
of the country engaged in the production of gold and 
silver bullion, copper matte, lead, zinc, &c. A good deal 
of ore is still exported, nevertheless, in a crude state, 
amounting in 1907 to a value of ;^i, 700,000. The 
Mexican Chamber of Mines, founded in 1906, is a 
useful institution in connection with the mining 
industry. 

The cheap labour and abundant raw material are 
conducive to Mexico's development in manufacturing ; 
and a further element is that of the abundant water- 
power which exists in certain sections of the country. 
Several important hydraulic and hydro-electric generating 
stations exist, among them being the Santa Gertrude's 
Jute Mills of Orizaba, developing some 5,000 horse power, 
operated by British capital ; the Vera Cruz Light, 
Power and Traction Company, Ltd., also British ; the 
Atoyac Irrigation Company, native capital ; the Anglo- 
Mexican Electric Company of Puebla ; the Puebla Tram- 
way, Light and Power Company, a Canadian enterprise 
of great extent and promise ; the Mexican Light and 
Power Company, also Canadian, which absorbed several 
existing native and foreign enterprises. Connected with 
some of these important and generally prosperous hydro- 
electric installations the name of a well-known British 
firm ^ figures prominently ; the builders of the great 
valley drainage work and the re-constructors of the 
Tehuantepec Railway and harbour works, and the Vera 
Cruz harbour works, and other matters of magnitude. 
' S. Pearson and Sons, Ltd., London. 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 337 

So if, as has been stated elsewhere, British trade in 
Mexico is declining, it is at least satisfactory to show that 
British capital and enterprise has established and profited 
by some of the greatest engineering and public works 
Mexico has ever possessed ; which will always remain as 
monuments to British thoroughness. Other hydro- 
electric stations are those of Guadalajara, at the famous 
falls of Juanacatlan, operated by native capital ; the 
Guanajuato Light and Power Company, an American 
concern, with a transmission line loo miles long. 

As to the textile industry, the cotton mills are amongst 
the foremost in the world, and their large capacity and 
splendidly-built factories are a source of surprise to the 
European or American traveller. A large number of 
these mills are actuated hydraulically or hydro-electri- 
cally. In 1907 there were 142 mills throughout the 
country in operation, employing 33,000 operatives, with 
694,000 spindles, and 23,500 looms. Of these mills 
35 are in Puebla, 12 in the Federal District, 11 in 
Coahuila, 14 in Vera Cruz, and the balance in the 
other states, whether upon the mesa central or upon the 
Atlantic or Pacific slopes. Among the most important of 
these industries may be named the Industrial Com- 
pany of Orizaba, whose output in 1907 reached a value 
of ;^85o,ooo, with a profit of ;^255,ooo to its French 
owners ; the Vera Cruz Industrial Company, profit 
;^84,ooo ; Atlixco Industrial Company, Puebla, French 
owners, profit ;^89,50o ; San Antonio Abad Company, 
State of Mexico, Spanish owners, profit 8 per cent, paid 
in 1907 upon its capital of ;^35o,ooo ; and numerous 
other lesser, but profitable concerns, scattered about the 
Republic. The amount of cotton used by the Mexican 
mills in 1907 was 36,700 metric tons, and the total value 
of the output was ;^5, 168,000. Thus is shown how 
important for Mexico is her textile industry.^ 

Other enterprises are the Santa Gertrudes Jute Mills, 
and the Aurora Jute Mills ; the San Ildenfonso Woollen 
Factory, the Mexico linen factory, silk factory and 

' These figures of dividends are from the Mexican Year Book, 1908. 

23 



\ 



338 MEXICO 

others — all of which are dividend-paying industries, of 
7 to 12 per cent. 

The cigarette factories of Mexico are among the best- 
equipped and largest in the world. The foremost of 
these are the " Buen Tono " factory, with a daily output 
of four to five million cigarettes ; and the " Tabacalera," 
with a daily output of four million cigarettes. There are 
in addition 480 other factories throughout the Republic, 
and others for the manufacture of cheroots, cigars, snuffs, 
and cut tobacco. The Mexican products cannot, how- 
ever, compete with the Cuban brands in favour as yet. 

As to the sugar mills there are more than 2,000 of 
different magnitude in the country, the largest being in 
the States of Morelos, Vera Cruz, and Sinaloa, and these 
are equipped with modern appliances. The production 
of Mexican sugar for 1907 was 119,500 metric tons; of 
molasses 68,300 tons ; and of rum 567,090 hectolitres. 

Iron and Steel factories are represented mainly by 
those of Monterrey, owning extensive coal and iron 
deposits, and operating with a capital of ^^1,000,000, 
founded in 1900. The rolling plant produced in 1906 
structural iron, steel rails, bar iron, and wire to the 
amount of 24,500 metric tons. The company has 
suffered severe drawbacks, and this output represents 
but a quarter of its capacity ; but it is expected that the 
enterprise will work its way on to financial success. 
The Encarnacion Iron Works, in the State of Hidalgo, 
which have been operating since 1850, produce bar 
iron of various kinds ; and the Apulco Foundry, in 
the same state, turns out pig-iron, castings, and 
machinery. Other concerns are the San Miguel Iron 
Works, in the same State, and the Comanja Iron Works, 
of Guanajuato. All these four enterprises are owned by 
an Englishman. 

Of Paper Mills the San Rafael factories in the State of 
Mexico are the leading enterprise. This is situated in a 
well-wooded and well-watered region near the foot 
of the snow-capped mountains, Ixtaccihuatl, and 
produces some 20,000 metric tons of paper per 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 339 

annum in much variety, from the finest to the cheapest 
kinds. The company owns large forest areas for pulp 
making ; its capital is ^^700,000, and it paid a dividend 
in 1907 of 8 per cent, it is stated. 

An industry which has very recently come into being 
is that of extracting crude india-rubber from the guayule 
shrub, which abounds in a wild state over vast areas 
in the northern plains. There are more than twenty 
factories engaged in this new industry, and, in addition, 
quantities of the shrub are exported. 

Other industries are the soap works of La Laguna, 
manufacturing soap and cotton-seed oil and cake from 
the products of this important cotton-growing district. 
A dynamite factory near the same region — at La Tinaja — 
operates under a special concession from the Govern- 
ment. A cement works at Hidalgo, of 50,000 tons annual 
capacity, has been started. 

Breweries. — A number of breweries exist, as those in 
the capital, and at Monterrey, Toluca, Orizaba, Chihuahua, 
Guadalajura, Cuernavaca, &c., and these generally pro- 
duce good beer such as supplies the home demand in 
general, and has largely killed imports of the foreign 
kinds. Of flour mills 400 establishments supply flour, 
whilst the meat-packing and cold-storage business is 
represented by the Mexican National Packing Company, 
of British control, in Michoacan, the centre of a live- 
stock industry. This is the only modern establishment 
of its kind. It was opened in 1908, and is an important 
enterprise. 

The industrial census of 1902 gives a list of more than 
5,500 manufactories, including sugar mills, distilleries, 
potteries, iron and steel works, chemical factories, 
chocolate factories, ice factories, paper mills, leather 
workers, and a host of others. Minor industries, 
performed in cottages and homes, occupy a large 
number of people, such as the making of hats, pottery, 
saddlery, linen-drawn work, and so forth. Special 
franchises and exemption are given by the Government 
for the establishing of new manufacturing industries, 



340 MEXICO 

which are encouraged by the Department of Fomento, 
and the field is not without attraction for foreign capital. 

Railways. — In the chapter dealing with the natural 
resources and conditions of the various states, some 
details of the railway system have been given. Mexico's 
railways have been the principal agency for her develop- 
ment, both political and commercial, for, on the one 
hand, they have rendered possible the swift suppression 
of revolutionary menace, and, on the other, they have 
fulfilled their function as means of communication for 
goods and passengers. No country has ever showed the 
effects of the steadying influence of railways so markedly 
as Mexico. The close communication with the United 
States, so rendered possible, and with the Gulf seaboard, 
has also contributed to this end, and the railways of 
Mexico may be looked upon as safeguards for stability 
in a considerable degree. I will now give a brief resume 
of the principal railway lines and their general conditions. 

The first line to put Mexico in touch with the outside 
world was the Mexican Railway from Vera Cruz to the 
capital. This work, having been much aided by the 
Maximilian regime, was completed under President 
Lerdo, and inaugurated on January i, 1873. The line 
is controlled by an English corporation, and the great 
engineering difficulties which were overcome, and the 
solidity of its construction, are such as are scarcely sur- 
passed by any railway in the world, conditions which 
reflect credit upon its British constructors. The line is 
almost unique from a scenic point of view, ascending, 
as it does, from the Gulf Coast, among the stupendous 
mountain fastnesses of the Sierra Madre, to gain the 
great elevation of the plateau and the Valley of Mexico. 
The tropical regions passed through, and the rapid 
changes of climate encountered, as the train ascends, 
must be experienced to be understood, but the general 
character of the regions traversed has been fully set forth 
in these pages. One of the most remarkable places, from 
an engineering and scenic point of view, is the Maltrata 
summit, and only in a few places in the world — on the 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 341 

transandine or transalpine railways, or the Denver line 
— is it equalled. From the gained altitude the passenger 
looks down upon the town, spread like a chess-board, 
thousands of feet below, as the train plunges around 
dizzy barrancas, over iron bridges spanning profound 
canyons, or along the curving road-bed cut in the solid 
rock of the mountain side. The names of many of the 
points passed en route bring back memories of the 
Conquest, and of those Homeric men who passed that 
way nearly four centuries ago, as well as of the Toltec 
and Aztec periods. From tide-water at Vera Cruz, the 
line crosses the coastal plain and plunges into a tropical 
forest, whence it climbs to 2,713 feet at Cordova, 4,028 
feet at Orizaba, amid a delightful climate and surround- 
ings, 5,151 feet at Maltrata, 8,000 feet at Esperanza, and 
reaches its highest point at Acocotla, near San Marcos, 
an elevation of 8,310 feet above sea-level. This, of course, 
is not high in comparison with the transandine Oroya 
railway of Peru,i which — the highest in the world — 
reaches 15,666 feet. The Vera Cruz line descends from 
the summit of the Sierra Madre to the Valley and City 
of Mexico, past the plains of Otumba and San Juan 
Teotihuacan, reaching the capital at an elevation of 
7,348 feet above sea-level. The length of the line from 
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico is 264 miles, and with its 
branches to Puebla and Pachuca, &c., 321 miles — all of 
standard gauge. The total share capital for a line of 
this mileage is heavy, the whole of the stock and shares 
reaching ;^7,82o,78o. The general growth of Mexico's 
trade and the careful management of the line are 
causing an improvement in its financial condition. In 
January, 1902, a dividend of only 2J per cent, was paid 
upon the first preference stock, and nothing upon the 
second nor upon the ordinary shares, whilst an increase 
in the following years, through 6 per cent, and 8 per cent., 
accrued to the first, so that for the last half-year of 1907, 
8 per cent. — its full rate — was paid upon the first prefer- 
ence stock, 5f on the second, and nothing on the ordinary 
' See my " Peru." 



342 MEXICO 

shares. The returns at present are suffering from the 
results consequent upon the late financial crisis in the 
United States, which seriously affected Mexico. 

The Mexican Central is the next line in importance. 
It is a noteworthy feature of Mexico's relations in the 
middle of last century with its neighbour — the United 
States, that President Lerdo discouraged the idea of 
traversing the deserts of the great plateau with a 
railway, fearful of American political and commercial 
machinations, as showed by his famous axiom, which 
I have quoted elsewhere, relating to the intervening 
desert. To the broader outlook of President Diaz this 
line owes its being, upon a concession transferred to 
an Englishman, who was associated with American 
capitalists. A company was formed, and the railway — 
which was subsidised by the Government — was opened 
for traffic from the City of Mexico to the United States 
frontier at El Paso on March 22, 1884. To-day, with 
its numerous branches, one of which runs eastwardly 
to the Gulf Coast at Tampico, and another, westwardly 
to Guadalajara and beyond, with yet another to Cuerna- 
vaca, it is a large system of 3,823 miles. The con- 
struction was inferior to that of the Vera Cruz Railway, 
as it obeyed the cheaper and more rapid American 
method rather than the more enduring British. It is 
a standard gauge line. The route traversed by the main 
line of this railway adown the mesa central, for 1,225 
miles, passes through vast areas of dry and treeless plains 
and among numerous squalid hamlets, and here the un- 
lovely side of Mexican life and travel is laid bare to the 
traveller. Nevertheless, these conditions alternate with 
those of the handsome and extensive cities of the plateau 
and with the great mining regions, all of which — in point 
of interest and value — compensate for sterility elsewhere. 
As for the branch line from San Luis Potosi to Tampico, 
it passes through the same remarkable tropical zone as 
the Vera Cruz line. The mountain scenery upon this 
route is impressive, with dense woods and fertile valleys 
giving place to the great canon of Tamasopo. The 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 343 

same panoramic character attends it, of luxuriant 
tropical conditions spread out 1,200 feet below the 
train, with rushing torrents, towering cliffs, and strange 
and varied topographic changes. The branch which 
runs westwardly towards the Pacific Ocean from the 
main line, passes through Guadalajara and descends 
the Western Sierra Madre towards Colima at Tuxpan. 
A short distance only remains to be constructed in order 
to give a completed route to Manzanillo — the port upon 
the Pacific coast, which will form the terminus of what 
will then constitute a new transcontinental route from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific. This is an exceedingly inte- 
resting journey, but a disastrous flood in 1906 set back the 
construction work. The branch line from the Mexican 
Central, which runs from the City of Mexico westwardly 
to the Balsas river, is destined ultimately to reach the 
famous seaport of Acapulco, on the Pacific Ocean. This 
port, indeed, is the best harbour on the Pacific coast of 
North America, after San Francisco in California. The 
line, however, is still far from reaching the coast. 
Cuernavaca, which is passed by this line, is some 75 
miles from the capital, and the route lies through a 
scenic wonderland, reaching, at the summit of the Sierra 
Madre, an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea-level, and 
affording a magnificent view of the City and Valley of 
Mexico 2,500 feet below. Beautiful and historic, 
Cuernavaca was a home of Montezuma and a famous 
prehistoric centre until its capture by Cortes, and every 
Mexican traveller marks it as one of his objective points. 
The finances of the Mexican Central Railway have been 
in recent years often in an unsatisfactory state, and the 
consolidation of the line with the National Railway, 
under Government auspices, is expected to bring about 
a more favourable condition. 

The National Railroad similarly traverses the great 
plateau, from Laredo, upon the United States border, 
to the City of Mexico. It was a subsidised narrow- 
gauge line, built under American auspices, and was 
opened for traffic in November, 1888. The inevitable 



344 MEXICO 

widening of the gauge to standard size took place, and 
was completed in November, 1903. The length of the 
main line is 800 miles ; the shortest route from 
the United States border to the capital. The Inter- 
oceanic Railway, a British company, which forms 
part of the consolidated system now, will give it a 
line to Vera Cruz, whilst, via the International Railway, 
it has communication westwardly to the important 
city of Durango. Another branch line runs to Mata- 
moros, upon the Gulf of Mexico. The line also traverses 
a portion of Texas. 

The Interoceanic Railway is a main line from the 
capital to Vera Cruz, passing through the town of 
Jalapa, amid a region famed for its beauty and unique 
tropical surroundings ; and the line was constructed 
and operated by British interests. It embodies 736 
miles of line. Its original concession was designed for 
powers to run to Acapulco, on the Pacific coast ; hence 
the name of the railway ; but it does not nearly reach 
the coast, although it descends into and serves the 
fertile and picturesque State of Morelos, connecting 
at Puente de Ixtla with the Mexican Central Railway. 
From that point a branch line runs to Puebla, the 
second or third important city of importance in Mexico ; 
passing near the famous town of Cholula, of Aztec and 
Toltec remembrance. The Interoceanic is now merged 
into the new consolidation arrangement. 

The International Railway runs also from the United 
States border, at Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, or Eagle Pass, 
across the great plateau to the city of Durango, as 
before mentioned, passing through important agricul- 
tural, manufacturing and coal-bearing regions. 

The Hidalgo and North-Eastern is a narrow-gauge 
railway, 152 miles long, from the City of Mexico into 
the State of Hidalgo, and forms a part of the Mexican 
national system. 

In the consolidation or fusion of the foregoing lines, 
that is to say, the Mexican Central, National, Inter- 
national, and Interoceanic, the Government has a 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 345 

dominating interest of 85 per cent, of the capital 
stock, and the control of this great system and com- 
pany, now termed the " National Railways of Mexico," 
with an authorised capital of 615 million pesos, or 
;;^6i, 500,000, will be mainly a State affair ; and any 
profits accruing from the enterprise after payment of 
interest on bonds and dividends on preferred stock, 
will go to the Mexican nation. 

The Tehuantepec Railway is a very important line, 
in that it forms a short transcontinental route across 
North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans ; 
and it may be expected to compete with the Panama 
Canal, in the carriage of passengers and freight. The 
distance from ocean to ocean in an air line is only 
125 miles, and the line itself is only 192 miles long. 
This interesting route crosses the divortia aquarum, or 
water parting, of the continent at an elevation of only 
730 feet above sea-level, at the Chivela Pass. The 
isthmus of Tehuantepec has been considered of geo- 
graphical interest ever since the expeditions of Cortes 
discovered it. Projects both for a canal and a ship- 
railway have at different times during last century been 
brought forward to traverse it. The existing railway 
line was built in 1894, but its construction was faulty, 
and, moreover, the terminal ports, Coatzacoalcos on 
the Gulf side, and Salina Cruz on the Pacific side, 
were inadequate. In 1899 an English firm was called 
in by the Mexican Government ; contracts entered into 
for the re-construction of the line, and the making of 
its terminal ports, all of which has been carried to 
completion ; a work of endurancy, solidity, and utility 
being the result, which reflects credit on British 
methods generally and upon the contracting engineers 
in particular. This is the same firm^ which carried 
out the great harbour works of Vera Cruz, and the 
drainage of the Valley of Mexico, and it has earned 
an enviable reputation in Mexico. The Tehuantepec 
Railway is 1,200 miles north of the Panama Coast, and 

» See p. 336. 



346 MEXICO 

may be expected to take a good deal of the United 
States and international transoceanic traffic, as it is 
nearest to the " axial line " of the world's commerce of 
any American isthmusian route. The railway is owned 
by the Mexican Government, but is worked by the 
British contractors in conjunction therewith under a 
partnership agreement. At Salina Cruz, the Pacific 
terminus, a fine harbour has been constructed at con- 
siderable cost ; and a dry dock capable of holding 
vessels 600 feet long. The whole forms one of the most 
important seaports on the American Pacific coast, and 
reflects credit on its British constructors and on Mexican 
financial enterprise. 

The Mexican Southern Railway is a narrow-gauge 
railway, 228 miles long, running from the city of 
Puebla to the city of Oaxaca, through the fertile region 
of Tehuacan. It was built by a British firm ^ of 
engineers, which later carried out an important part 
of the drainage works of the Valley of Mexico. The 
company is British, and the financial position of the 
enterprise, which had been one of difficulty formerly, 
has, under re-construction and the growing prosperity 
of the country, been enabled to double its earnings, 
and pay a dividend upon its ordinary stock. 

The Vera Cruz and Pacific Railway runs from 
Cordoba, an important town before mentioned, on the 
Mexican Railway to Vera Cruz, to Santa Lucrecia, on 
the Tehuantepec Railway ; and is of much importance, 
as it links the general railway system of the Republic 
with the transisthmus line. In addition to this, it has 
a branch line to Vera Cruz, and so becomes a through 
route of travel from that port to the Pacific Ocean, 
via Tehuantepec. The road carried a Government 
subsidy and was financed in the United States, but 
due to inefficient management and the heavy work 
involved in construction, the company suspended pay- 
ments in 1903, and the Government, in view of the 
strategic importance of the line, took the property off 
' Read, Campbell & Co., London. 









O y 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 347 

the hands of the company. The railway is now 
operated under Government auspices as an individual 
concern. It is standard gauge, its length being 201 
miles for the Tehuantepec connection, and 62 miles 
for the Vera Cruz branch. 

The Vera Cruz (Mexico) Railways — not to be con- 
founded with the Mexican (Vera Cruz) Railway — is a 
narrow-gauge line 44 miles long, running from the 
port of Vera Cruz along the coast to Alvarado — named 
after the Conquistador — a port near the estuary of the 
Papaloapam river. This navigable river, as elsewhere 
described, extends inland and gives access to an im- 
portant tropical region. A tributary of this river, the 
San Juan, is navigable for small craft for a distance 
of 177 miles from Alvarado, at San Juan Evangelista, 
whence a short railway line connects with the Tehuan- 
tepec Railway, thus completing a through service of 
travel. The railway company and its steamers form 
a British enterprise, controlled by the constructors of 
the Tehuantepec Railway. 

In the peninsula of Yucatan are the United Railways 
of Yucatan, giving communication with the chief cities 
and ports of that region. The total length of line 
embodied in the three divisions of this system is 
373 miles; and there is a line from Merida to Peto, 
of 145 miles. 

Returning now to the north of the Republic ; the 
Rio Grande, Sierra Madre, and Pacific Railway runs 
westwardly from Ciudad Juarez, or El Paso, for a 
distance of 159 miles. It is an American enterprise, and 
traverses some good agricultural and mineral regions, 
serving the prosperous Mormon colonies founded by 
Americans in the State of Chihuahua. It is designed 
some day to traverse the Sierra Madre and reach the 
Pacific Ocean. 

The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient is an important 
undertaking which, when it is concluded, will give a 
transcontinental route, from the railway system of the 
United States via Chihuahua, to a port on the Pacific 



348 MEXICO 

Ocean — that of Topolobampo, on the Gulf of California. 
The length of the Mexican portion of the line is 634 
miles, of which 332 are constructed. It opens up a 
vast new region of Western Mexico, and should be 
of growing importance, and of international service. It 
is an American enterprise, with British and Mexican 
associations. Connected with it is the Chihuahua and 
Pacific Railway. 

The Sonora Railway runs from Nogales on the United 
States border, to the port of Guaymas on the Gulf of 
California, as described elsewhere, with a length of 
265 miles. In connection with this railway, and with 
the Southern Pacific Railway of the United States, 
railway building in Western Mexico is projected by 
American capitalists, over routes already surveyed, for 
a length of more than 4,000 miles, portions of which 
are to be subsidised by the Mexican Government. 

The Pan-American Railway, as its name implies, is 
projected for the purpose of uniting North and South 
America by rail, its ultimate destination being Panama. 
At present the portion under construction is for linking 
the general system of the Republic with the isolated 
system of Yucatan, and thence to the frontier of 
Guatemala. The distance from its starting-point at 
San Geronimo on the Tehuantepec line, to the Panama 
Canal, is 1,650 miles ; and the line is to form a link in 
the great project of a rail route from New York to 
Buenos Ayres. It is an American enterprise. 

There are numerous other short lines throughout 
Mexico, serving mineral and agricultural regions, whether 
under Mexican, British, American, or other owner- 
ship, giving a total length of existing Mexico railways, 
of 14,180 miles. Thus it is shown that Mexico is 
covered with a network of railways, connected with 
each other and with the system of the United States, 
throughout the great length of her territory from north 
to south, and crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the 
Pacific Ocean — in practically two instances — one com- 
pleted and in operation, the other nearing completion. 



FINANCE, INDUSTRIES, RAILWAYS 349 

The new railway laws of Mexico will prevent undue 
competition and the duplicating of existing lines ; and 
the Republic's railways ought in the future to be of 
developing value, in view of the considerable resources 
of the territory which they traverse, and of their 
geographical importance. 

In brief, the commercial and industrial life of Mexico 
is young but full of promise, and has entered upon 
a course whose present surroundings seem favourable 
and well founded. 



CHAPTER XVII 

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 

Mexico's unique conditions — Her future — Asiatic immigrants — Fostering of 
the native race — Encouraging of immigration — Ttie white man in 
the American tropics — Future of Mexican manufactures — The Pan- 
American Congress — Pan-American railway — Mexico and Spain — 
The Monroe doctrine— Mexico, Europe, and the United States — 
Promising future of Mexico. 

The foregoing study of the Republic of Mexico shows 
that the country and its inhabitants embody some unique 
conditions. Geographically its situation is important, 
geologically and topographically it contains much that is 
remarkable ; whilst, historically, the ancient civilisation 
which dwelt there, and the strenuous happenings upon 
its soil since the advent of the Europeans, mark it out 
specially from the rest of the American world. As to its 
flora and fauna, even they present a curious transition 
stage between North and South America ; whilst its 
human races form the most remarkable blending of 
peoples to be found in the New World. 

So varied a set of conditions naturally cause the student 
to inquire as to the probable value of Mexico as a factor 
in civilisation. The European observer of American 
States criticises these from a special standpoint. America, 
as a new world, has had a unique opportunity for making 
a step forward in the things which should be for the 
good of mankind, and an account of their stewardship 
naturally forms part of a study of these new nations. 

350 



CONCLUSION 351 

Mexico must now be classed as a modern nation, ful- 
filling an orderly destiny. As such it must of necessity 
have some voice in international matters, and among the 
nations of the New World the Republic has already 
lifted up its voice in questions of American affairs. The 
attitude of Mexico in world-politics is not without 
interest. Her geographical situation midway between 
the two great oceans of the world, the Atlantic and the 
Pacific, and between the two vast continents of the 
Americas, is one of considerable commercial and 
strategic value. That part of her territory known as the 
isthmus of Tehuantepec has not inaptly been termed 
"the bridge of the world's commerce," as elsewhere 
mentioned, and as such, indeed, it may play an important 
part, analogous to that of the Panama Canal, being, as it 
is, more than a thousand miles nearer to the world's 
great populations and the trade route of commerce than 
that famous isthmus. Mexico states that she looks 
towards Asia with equal favour as towards Europe, and 
geographically she may do so indeed. But this is a 
sentiment which — except in the mere matter of buying 
and selling — time will show to be untenable. Mexico is 
a " European " state, in character, tradition, and civilisa- 
tion ; and she, in common with all Latin America, must 
continue largely to draw her inspirations, and to augment 
her population from old Europe, not from Asia ; nor, 
indeed, save in certain respects, from her Anglo-American 
neighbour, the United States. 

A greater population, and of a higher calibre, is 
one of Mexico's chief desiderata. The introduction of 
Asiatics is permitted and even encouraged at present, but 
it is impossible that a growing enlightenment will permit 
this to continue. It must be disastrous to a country to 
admit Asiatics to permanent habitation in quantities, 
and such can only be done in obedience to dictates of 
a selfish nature, emanating, for example, from greedy 
plantation- or mine-owners, whose main object is that 
of present profits, regardless of the future. The natives 
of Mexico, like those of other Hispanic-American 



352 MEXICO 

countries, are far superior to Asiatics, and it is to the 
advantage of Mexico that its Government should foster 
the growth of the vigorous and useful peon race, and 
sternly set its face against the introduction of Chinese or 
other Asiatics as elements of colonisation. There is a 
favourable circumstance attending the matter of increase 
of population in Spanish-American countries : the women 
are prolific, and, moreover, the influence of the Roman 
Catholic religion tends at present to prevent the adoption 
of the condition known as " race-suicide." Equally with 
this fostering of the native race must be the encourag- 
ing of European immigration, such as Spaniards, 
Italians, and others. The Americans of the United 
States cannot furnish Mexico with new citizens or 
workers, tillers of the soil, or builders, or miners ; for the 
United States has her own territory to develop, and, 
moreover, the American citizen will never perform 
manual labour outside his own country. Both the 
Americans and the British will furnish capital and brains 
for Mexico's development, but of workers in the field they 
will send none. 

In this connection, however, the future may hold 
much, unsuspected at present. The question is con- 
stantly to the fore now as to wht ther the white man is 
able to perform manual work in the tropics, and large 
portions of Mexico and Spanish-America generally are 
situated in tropical zones. The reply to the question is 
twofold. First, the advancing science of sanitation, and 
kindred matters, are showing that the unfavourable 
conditions encountered in tropical lands are capable of 
change, and that regions hitherto unhealthy can be made 
habitable for alien white men. There can be little doubt 
that sweeping adverse statements about the impossibility 
of the occupation by white races of the tropical regions, 
especially of America, will be belied in coming years. 
The other consideration bearing upon this question is 
that there is no necessity for the white man to work in 
the tropics to the same extent that he works in temperate 
climates. Nature has done half the work herself, and 



CONCLUSION 363 

it will surely be found that invading man must adapt his 
habits to her laws there, rather than pretend to implant 
his own methods arbitrarily. Thus, a minimum of work 
in the tropics secures shelter and sustenance to man 
there. But, so far, this facility of living has been an 
element for human deterioration rather than for progress. 
The Indian squatters of the Mexican tropics, or the 
savage bands of the Amazonian forests of South America, 
do not tend towards development. But it may be 
different when an educated and civilised race has, 
perforce, to take up its residence in such regions. The 
struggle for life, for bread, roof, and clothing, is so much 
less severe that it may transpire that man, in such regions, 
will have more time to develop the intellectual side of his 
life, and a new stimulus and purpose might be brought to 
being from such a combination of race and environment. 
It is apparent already to the observer that the Spanish- 
American race, which largely inhabits tropical America, 
has developed a strong tendency towards the lessening of 
its quota of manual labour, and an augmentation of its 
cultivating of the theoretical and intellectual side of life. 
In Mexico, Peru, or elsewhere, the white race forms an 
upper class, lovers of leisure and of work of an intellectual 
character. There is no white middle-class of hand 
labourers. If there is anything in this theory and 
tendency there may come to being some day a highly- 
developed race in the American tropics. These con- 
siderations, however, are as yet far removed from the 
Mexico of to-day. Work must be her maxim, hard work, 
and development. 

Whether Mexico will ever become an important 
manufacturing nation remains to be seen. The Mexicans 
are not without considerable aptitude as mechanics, but 
they have not much faculty of invention or origination. 
It is very doubtful if any of the Spanish-American 
nations are destined to shine as makers and exporters of 
finished articles. Perhaps the role of evolving a new 
kind of civilisation, not dependent upon commerce, is to 
be theirs ! All of these countries are, however, endowed 

24 



354 MEXICO 

with elements essential to manufacture : in raw material, 
fuel, and water-power. 

Of international meetings which have taken place in 
Mexico the Pan-American Congress of 1902 was of some 
importance. The feasting and eloquence, the society 
functions and self-congratulations which ran riot, were 
characteristic of this imaginative and enthusiastic race of 
Latin America. If these matters were more in evidence 
than practical results — as is often characteristic of such 
assemblies — at least the important step was taken of 
calling together their neighbours of America, discussing 
their affairs, and emphasising the advisability of settling 
these, when differences arose, by arbitration, rather than 
battle. It was complained that Europe took little note of 
or interest in this conference, and among the delegates of 
some of the Latin American states — representatives of all 
of which were present — Europe was blamed for frigidity 
to thoughts of arbitration. But the world grows wiser 
slowly, and Spanish-America not more rapidly. Important 
matters which occupied the attention of the Congress 
were the questions of some standardising of Spanish- 
American Custom-house methods, and the great subject 
of the Pan-American railway. This vast scheme is 
designed to link all the republics of North and South 
America together. But it may well be asked if the cost, 
estimated at 40 million pounds sterling, to build the 5,000 
miles necessary to complete the chain of existing lines, 
would ever pay through these thinly scattered populations 
and endless mountain regions. It is, however, an allur- 
ing project, and calls for some great railway-building 
Bolivar to impulse it. It is but a question of time. 

The attitude of the modern Mexicans towards Spain — 
the land which gave them birth — is rather a remarkable 
one. As a whole they cannot be said to be pro-Spanish. 
The Indian blood is strong, and the Indian side of the 
Mexican cherishes still what is almost a resentment 
against Spain for the acts of the Conquest. Perhaps the 
reader of this book, if he has read the chapters upon 
those stirring times, will not need to ask himself why ! 



CONCLUSION 355 

Spanish America — Mexico and Peru — raises no statues 
to Cortes, nor to Pizarro. But there is another side to 
the picture, and during the war between Spain and 
the United States, the Spaniards and pro-Spaniards of 
Mexico raised funds to purchase a warship for Spain. 
But neither Mexico nor any other free RepubHc of 
Latin America raised a hand in aid of the unfortunate 
Cubans, whose life-blood Spain, with all her old methods, 
was slowly letting before their eyes I 

Of international questions in the American hemisphere 
the Monroe Doctrine takes much importance. The 
origin of the principle contained in this has been set 
forth in the chapter devoted to history, and its British 
origin recollected. At the present time the doctrine 
embodies, to the Spanish-American mind, not so much 
the antidote to possible European aggression as the 
hegemony of the United States in the American hemi- 
sphere. Of recent years the method or spirit of its 
enunciation by the United States has been such as almost 
to cause offence among the Spanish-American Republics, 
an effect which, naturally, it was not intended to convey. 
But the Mexican and South American Republics are not 
slow to resent any idea of North American leading- 
strings. They consider their individuality no whit 
inferior to that of the Anglo-American, and the discussions 
which have been carried out in the press of both con- 
tinents show how little the two races of the Americas 
really understand each other. Nor can they be expected 
to do so, possibly for centuries — such centuries as passed 
before a Franco-British entente became possible ! There 
is far more affinity of social interests between Spanish- 
America and Europe than between the United States and 
Spanish-America, and there can be no doubt that the 
growth of a great American civilisation distinct from that 
of the United States will be a valuable element in the 
New World. The influence of the United States will 
always be offset by the imported European culture and 
solidity. It has been characteristic of all Spanish-America 
to emulate and to exalt the United States, but the grave 



356 MEXICO 

faults apparent in the character of the Americans in their 
political and commercial world recently have caused 
much loss of prestige. The student of American life 
cannot maintain that the civilisation of the United States 
necessarily tends to become superior to that of the 
Spanish-American's. There is, of course, a vast 
superiority in manufacture, means of communication, 
and all that goes to make up the modern business world — 
immeasurably so. But of man's humanity to man, of 
social refinement, honesty in business, cleanliness in 
politics, the United States is not much in advance of its 
neighbours. Nevertheless, the influence of the United 
States has been, and will be, of much steadying value to 
Mexico, and it remains to be seen if Mexico can preserve 
her individuality, in view of her proximity to the United 
States, and whether she can absorb the excellent cha- 
racteristics of the Americans, without acquiring their 
defects. Probably she can. On the other hand, it is a 
source of satisfaction to the student of American civilisa- 
tion to observe the present reciprocal and neighbourly 
attitude of the United States and Mexico towards each 
other. There they stand, shoulder to shoulder, without 
quarrel of religion or race, the big Republic and the 
developing one, both under the forging hand of time. 

For herself Mexico may be looked upon as a strong 
and healthy type of Spanish-American civilisation, whose 
growth all students of race-affairs will watch with interest. 
Endowed with a land of varied and plentiful resource, 
chastened by history and tribulation, and with resolute 
step bent forward, Mexico stands as a leader of her race, 
and a worthy unit in the development of the great New 
World. Viva Mexico ! 



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INDEX 



Note. — For other place-names not given in index see chapters on Natural 

Resources and Railways, also List of Illustrations. 



ACAPULCO, seaport, 17, 105, log, iii, 304, 343 

Acocotla. 341 

Africa, 258 

Agramonte, 105 

Agricultural products, list of, 291 

Agriculture, 282-327 

Aguascalientes, State of, 210, 271, 303, 314 

Ahuitzuco, 280, 304 

Albuquerque, J.05 

Alcohol, 238 

Aldama, iii 

Alfred, King, 24 

AUende, in 

Alligators, 19, 152 

Alpacas, 152 

Alvarado mine, 259 

Alvarado, Pedro de, 59, 82-97, 190, 347 

Amazon, 18, 290, 353 

Ameca, 147, 208 

American Smelting Co., 336 

Americans in Mexico, 12, 14, 16, ri6, 155, 181, 

201, 204, 205, 211, 249, 305, 323 
Ampudea, General, 122 
Anahuac, 9, 15, 20, 136, 140, 185 
Andes, 18, 112, 136-146 
Anglo-American Co. of Puebla, 336 
Anson, Admiral, 105 
Anthracite, 280 (see Coal) 
Apaches, 158, 210, 264 
Arbitration, 354 
Arch in prehistoric Mexico, 34 
Architecture, Mexican, 182, 185, 288 
Architecture, prehistoric. 34-84, 326 
Area of Mexico, 135, 296-327 
Arequipa, 180, 210 
Argentina, 106, 167 
Arista, General, 121 
Arizona, 34, 123, 149, 296 
Armadillos, 153 
Army, ?.02 
Art Institution, 199 
Asia, Asiatics, 35, 294, 325, 351 (see also 

Japanese, &c.) 
Asphalt, 322 
Astlan, 24 
Atahualpa, loi 
Atlantis, lost continent of, 34 
Atoyac Irrigation Co., 336 
Atoyac river, 319 
Audiencias, 102, 107 
Austins, the, 119 
Austria (see Maximilian) 
Avino mine, 259, 266, 313 
Azoteas, 9, 182 
Aztecs, 2, 16, 20-97, 107. 143. 259, 182, 288, 316, 

341 

Babylon, 45 
Bahamas, 57 



Balboa, 57 

Balsas river, 144, 303, 304, 318, 349 

Bananas or platanos, 3, 11 (see also Agriculture) 

Bank, 335 

Barbarity of the Spaniards, 72, 75, 81, 83, 100, 

no 
Barley, 289 

Barradas, General, 118 
Bazaine, General, 127 
Beans, 289, 291 
Bears, 153 
Beaver, 153 
Behring Straits, 36 
Belgians, King of the, 127 
Belize {see British Honduras) 
Bernal, Diaz, 27, 28, 64, 74, 79, 92 
Biblical analogies, 35, 223 
Birds, 3, 13s, 153 
Bison, 153 

Boa-constrictors, 3, 152 
Boleo copper mines, 279 
Bolivar, 106 
Bolivia, 138, 152 

Bondholders, British, 126, 131, 132 
Bravery of the Mexicans, 121, 122 
Bravo, General, 115, 116 
Brazil, 284, 290 
Breweries, 311, 339 
Brigantines, 89-97 
Britain, British, 6, 10, 11, 12, 104, 105, 106, 109, 

112, 116, 125, 126, 131, 135, 155, 201, 204, 249, 

265, 279, 296, 30s, 313, 314, 317, 331, 336, 337, 

352 
British capital in Mexico, 275, 277, 331, 336, 

337 
British Honduras, 135, 325, 326, 327 
Buccaneers, 104, 105, io6 
Budget, 331 

Buena Vista, battle of, 122 
Buenos Ayres, 112, 184 
Bufa mines, 277, 278 
Buildings, prehistoric, 33-5S, 304 
Bull-fights, 176, 193-196, 241-244 
Burgoa, Francisco, 43 
Butterflies, 3 

Cactus, 3, 5, 15 

Calendar stone, 23, 34, 53, 199 

California, 24, 34, 105, 107, 114, 123, 257, 283, 

343 
California, Gulf of, 145 
California, Lower, 139, 143, 271, 277, 278, 279, 

280, 297 
Calleja, in 

Campeche, State of, 105, 135, 271, 324, 325 
Canada, Canadians, 167, 178, 336 
Canal, Mexican drainage (see Drainage) 
Cananea Copper Co., 278 
Cannibalism, Aztec, 51, 94, 96 



357 



358 



INDEX 



Canning, ii6 

Caracas, 112 

Carlos III. of Spain, 269 

Carlos V. of Spain, 64, 70, 73, 90, 96, 100 

Carlota, Empress, 127-129 

Carmen Island, 280 

Casa Fuerte, Viceroy, 106 

Casas Grandes river, 211 

Casones river, 323 

Catalina, Juarez, 59 

Catapult, the, 94 

Cathedral of Mexico, 103, 191 

Cathedrals, i86, 209, 266, 303 

Catorce, 266,315 

Cattle, 284, 292, 299, 309, 311 

Causeways, Aztec, 26, 34, 77-97 

Cavendish, 104 

Caves, 225 

Cedar, 151 (see Timber) 

Cement worl;, 339 

Cempoallas, 33, 65 

Cenotes, or wells, 46, 326, 327 {see also Coast 

Pacific Zone) 
Centipedes, 153, 234 
Central America, 106, 149 
Centralists, 116, 119 
Cereals, 283 (see Agriculture) 
Chalco, lake, 16, 146, 188 
Chamber of Mines, 336 
Chapala, lake, 25, 144, 145, 208, 301 
Chapultepec, 95, 121, 122, 186, 189, 200 
Cheops, pyramid of, 40 
Chewing gum, 32 
Chiapas, State of, 142, 271, 284, 307 
Chicago, 182 
Chichemeca, 24 
Chichen-Ytza, 37, 45, 46 
Chicle, 151, 32s 
Chihuahua, 10, loS, ill, 122, 138, 142, 210, 266, 

308 
Children of the Sun, 24, 96 
Chile, 106, 112, IIS, 167 
ChiUi, 217, 291 
Chilpancingo, iii, 147, 279 
China, Chinese, 35, 114, 199, 325 
Chivela Pass, 345 
Chocolate, 52, 283, 289, 301 
Cholula, 22, 23, 32, 37, 40, 70, 74, 320 
Church, disestablishment of tie, 118, 125 
Cigarettes, 218, 338 
Cities of the plateau, 9 
Class distinctions, 159, 160 
Clavijero, 27 

Climate, 1-19, 136, 146-153, 185, 296-327 
Clubs, 201 
Coahuila, State of, 122, 138, 271, 278, 280, 309, 

321 
Coal (see Mining) 

Coast zone, Atlantic, 3, 138, 146-153 
Coast zone, Pacific, 17-19, 138, 146-153, 287, 

295-307 
Coatzacoalcos, 323, 345 
Cocoanuts, 18, 283, 288, 291 
Cochineal, 151 

Coffee, 283, 284, 289, 291, 293 
Cofre de Perote, 69, 141, 319 
Cold storage, 339 
Colhuas and Chalcas, 24 
Colima, State of, 271, 278, 302 
Colima volcano, 17, 19, 208, 302 
Colleges, 197, 198 
Colombia, loP 
Colonial rule, 98-112 
Colonisation, 293 
Colorado river, 298 
Colorado, 144 
Columbus, 57 



Conception del Oro, 314 

Conchas river, 144, 211, 321 

Congress, 11 1 

Conquest of Mexico, 56-97 

Conservative party, 124 

Consolidated goldfields, 277 

Constitution, Mexican, 158, 159 

Contreras, battle of, 122 

Copper among the Aztecs, 50 (see also Mining) 

Cordova, Hernandez de, 57 

Cornish miners, 260 

Cortes, 2, 17, 27, 32, 55-102, 103, 140, 188, 259 

266, 304, 318, 326, 341, 343, 355 
Cotton, 8, 13S, 145, 167, 209, 231, 283-291, 28S; 

337 (see also Agriculture) 
Couriers, Aztec, 50 
Cougars, 4, 152 

Courtesy of the Mexicans, 12, 160 
Council of the Indies, 106 
Coyotes, 2, 8, 9, 152 
Cozumel, island of, 61, 326 
Creeds, 199 
Creoles, 154 

Creston-Colorado mine, 277 
Cretaceous period, 141, 142 
Crocodiles, 4, 19, 302 

Cross, the, in Mexico, 15, 61, 79, 219-223, 228 
Cuautla, III 

Cuba, 57, 284, 326, 338, 335 
Cuernavaca, 17, 90, 304, 318, 343 
Cuitlahuac, 88 
Cuitzeo, lake, 146 
Culiacan, 300 
Currency, 335 
Cuzco, 180 

Dam, international, 293 

Deer, 153 (see Game) 

Deluge, the, 35 

Denudation of forests, 152, 285 

Deserts, 6, 122, 135, 137, 151, 309, 310 

Diaz, Porfirio, President, 126-133, i6S, I93i 

306 
Dilligences, 235, 310 
Doctor mine, 316 
Dos Estrellas mines, 276 
Drainage of the Valley of Mexico, 17, 103, 104, 

133, 188, 203 
Dralce, 104, 257 
Duelling, 248 

Durango, 10, 210, 258, 267, 271, 279, 312 
Dyewoods, 320-327 
Dynamite, 339 

Eagle Pass, 310, 344 

Eagle, serpent, and cactus, 21 

Earthquakes, 105 

Ecuador, 23 

Education, i6o, 197-199 

Egypt, 29, 35, 45 

El Ebano, 280 

Electric power, 189, 203, 317, 336, 337 

Elevation above sea-level, 136, 139, 185, 296- 

327, 341 
Eloquence, Mexican, 162 
El Oro, gold-mining district, 275, 317 
El Paso, 309 
Empire of Mexico, 114 
Ensenada, 298 
Esperanza mine, 276 
Estrada Gutierrez, 119 
Ethnology, 154-158 
Expectoration, habit of, 249 
Expedition, British-Spanish-French, 126 
Exports, 289, 332-340 

Fauna, 149-153, 296-327 



INDEX 



359 



Feather-work, Aztec, 50, 63 

Federalists, 116, 119 

Federation, 159 

Ferdinand VII. of Spain, iii 

Fibrous plants, 151, 289, 291 

Figueroa, Viceroy, 106 

Financial conditions, 328-349 

Fistieries, 296 

Flint and steel, 218 

Flint implements, 225, 226 

Floating gardens, Aztec, 26, 91, 150, 189 

Flora, 149-153, 296-327 

Flour mills, 339 

Flowers, 150 

Foreigners in Mexico {see also British 

America, &c.), 12, 155, 201, 204, 249, 279, 

329 
Forests, 17, 151, 283, 284, 285, 292, 296-327 
Forey, General, 127 

France, French, 116, 126, 135, 155, 201, 279 
French Revolution, H2 
Frijoles, 216, 289, 291 
Fruits, tropica], 18, 100, 150, 231, 283-291, 296- 

327 
Fuerte river, 299 

Game, 153, 299, 322 (see also Sport) 
Geographical conditions, 134-153, 294-327, 

351 
Geographical Society, 199 
Geology, 47, 272 

Germany, Germans, 135, 153, 201, 204 
Gold, Aztec, 50, 53, 81, 260 

„ (see Mining) 

,, Mining Companies, 275-278 
Gonzalez, President, 131 
Government, 158-159 
Grape-vine, 109, 283 
Great Plateau, the, 2, 3-19, 136-153, 184, 231, 

308-320 
Grijalva, 58, 140 

river, 145, 307, 324 
Guadalajara, 10, 146, 208, 301, 337 
Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 123 

„ Shrine of, 187, 266 

Guanajuato, 13, no, iii, 142, 258, 264, 268, 269, 
271, 315 
„ Light and Power Co., 337 

Guatemala, 9, 31, 44, 100, 114, 135, 295, 307, 

324. 325 
Guatemoc, 27, 88-iai, 192 
Guaymas, 296, 297, 348 
Guayule, 290, 291, 314, 338 
Guerrero, General, 113, 115 

„ State of, 18, 138, 271, 279, 303, 385 

Gulf of California, 296 

„ Mexico, 2, 58, 61, 135-139. 143 

„ Stream, 326 
Guzman, 103 

Habana, 105 

Haciendas, 8, 17, 167, 287, 317 

Harbour works. Vera Cruz, 133, 324 

„ „ Salina Cruz, 306, 345, 346 

Hawkins, 104 

Henequen, 283, 289, 291-321, 325, 326 
Hercules Cotton Mill, 316 
Hermosillo, 297 
Hidalgo, Patriot, 102, 108-111, 112 

State of, 143, 271, 315 
Highwaymen, 117, 212 
Hindustan, 35 
Holy Alliance, I IS, 331 
Hondo river, 327 
Honduras, 100, 13S, 325, 327 
Horned toads, 7 
Horsemen, expert, 122, 167, 244 



Horses, breeding, 292, 299 

„ first appearance of, 62, 71, 77, 94, 152, 
167 
Hospitality of Mexicans, 161 
Houses, Mexican, 180, 197, 202, 287 
Houston, 120 
Huancavelica mine, 260 
Huasteca district, 315 
Huitzilopochtli, war-god, 25 
Human sacrifice, 23, 25, 40, 79, 93 

„ tallow, 90 
Humboldt, 210, 272, 134 
Hydrography, 137-153, 233, 296-326 

Ice factories, 339 

Idols, destruction of, 67, 81, 83 

Iguanas, 18, 153 

Immigration, 294, 352 

Incas, 22, 23, 26, 29, 31, 49, 140, 261 

Independence, 106 

Indians, 154-15S, 327 

Indiarubber {see Rubber) 

Industries, 335 

Inquisition, 103, in, 228 

Institutions, National, 178-206 

Iron (see Mining) 

,, foundries, 338 
Irrigation, 4, 8, 52, 14S, 149, 285-287, 289, 293, 

296-327 
Israel, lost ten tribes of, 35 
Iturbide, 107, 1 13-116. 264, 204 
Iturrigaray, Viceroy, log, no 
Itzala, gorge of, 53, 143 
Ixtaccihuatl, 15, 17, 20, 74, 140, 317, 319 
Ixtle, 290, 291, 321 
IxtlilxochiU, 29, 30, 89, 185 

JACALER, 25 

Jaguars, 4, 152 

Jalapa, 147 

Jalisco, State of, 144, 146, 261, 271, 278, 301 

Jamaica negroes, 325 

Japanese, 36 

Jesuits, 105, 106, 192 

Jockey Club, 201 

Joinville, Prince de, 119 

JoruUo, volcano, 106 

Juanacatlan, falls of, 144, 208, 301, 337 

Juarez, President, 118, 124-130, 155,306 

Jurassic peiiod, 141 

KiNGSBOROUGH, Lord, 35 
Koreans, 325 

La Blanca mine, 276 
Labour, 294 
Laguna madre, 321 

„ cotton region, 145, 285, 339 
Lakes, 145, 187 
Lampart, 105 
Land frauds, 293 

Land systems, 49, io8, 156, 157, 167, 293 
Languages, 24, 35, 170 
La Paz, 298 
Laredo, 310, 322 
Lasso, 24s, 248 

Latitude and longitude, 136, 183 
La Tinaja, 339 
Lava, 143 

Lerdo, President, 14, 129 
Lerdo town, 149 
Lerma river, 144, 317 
Lima, 178, 185 
Limantour, Seiior, 329 
Limestone, mountain, 141 
Linares, Viceroy, 105 
Literary Institutions, 199 



360 



INDEX 



Lizards, 7 

Llama, 152 

Loans, foreign, 125, 331, 332 

Lopez, 128 

Lost ten tribes, 33 

Lotteries, 201 

Lower California (see California) 

Maguey, 8, 151, 167, 284, 287, 316 

Mahogany, 4, 151 

Maiz, 283, 289, 291 

Malaria, 4, 5, 64, 299, 302, 303, 305, 306, 324 

Malinche, 73, 140, 317, 319 

Maltrata, 340 

Mamey, 291 

Mammals, 153 

Mangroves, 4 

Manila, 105 

Manufacturing, 209, 310, 317, 323, 336-34°. 353 

Manzanillo, 302, 343 

Mapimi, bolson of, 138, 144, 313 

Maravillas Mine, 276 

Marina, 61, 63, 72 

Marques de Croix, Viceroy, 106 

Marquez, 124 

Martens, 153 

Masonic lodges, 117 

Matamoros, 280 

Maximilian, Emperor, 126-130, 265,316 

Mayas, 22, 34, 45, 260, 326, 327 

Mazapil Copper Co., 279, 314 

Mazatlan, 300 

Medicinal plants, 151 

Medina, Bartolome de, 26 

Mejia, General, 128, 129 

Mendoza, Viceroy, 102 

Mercado, 263, 279 

Merida, 325, 326 

Mestizos, 107, 154 

Metate, 215 

" Metalurgica Mexicana," 315, 336 

Mexico, City of, 16, 76-97, 184-206 

„ State of, 271, 316 

„ Tramways Co., 204 

Valley of, 3, 14-17, 20, 26, 76-97, 184- 
206 
Mexican Light and Power Co., 203, 336 
Michoacan, State of, 102, 106, 146, 271, 278, 

303 
Mier, 112, 118 
Mina, General, ill 
Minas, Prietas, 277 
Mineral-bearing zone, 270, 296-327 
Mining, 255-281, 296-327, 330, 336 

„ antimony, 271, 280 

„ Aztec, 52, 260, 280 
coal, 271, 280, 303 

„ copper, 261, 271, 278 

„ gold, 260, 262, 271, 275-278 

„ history of, 6, 142, 255-270, 

„ iron, 261, 263, 271, 279 

„ lead, 261, 271, 280 

„ opals, 270 

„ petroleum, 271, 280, 322 

,, placer, 261 

„ prehistoric, 260 

„ properties, 281 

„ quicksilver, 260, 271 

„ salt, 271 

„ School, 200, 269 

„ silver, 6, 142, 26a, 262, 264, 271-275 

„ Spanish, 262 

„ tin, 53, 261, 271, 280 

„ titles, 281 

„ tunnels, 262 

„ zinc, 271 
Miramon, General, 128 



149, 233, 285, 286, 



Miramon, President, 126 

Mitla, ruins of, 42 

Molina del Rey, 122 

Monastic orders, 192 

Mongolians, 35 (see also Chinese, &c.) 

Monkeys, 4, 152 

Monoliths, 38, 42 

Monoloa mine, 268 

Monopolies, Spanish, 109 

Monroe Doctrine, 116, 355 

Monte Alban, ruins of, 37, 42 

Monte de las Cruces, 110 

Monterrey, city of, 122, 148, 149, 279, 311 

Montezuma, 24, 27-84, 261, 187, 343 

„ Mine, 27S 

Morelia, no, 303 
Morelos, the priest, in, 112 

„ State of, 287, 318 
Morgan, 105 
Mormons, 347 
Mule-back journeying, 14 (see " Life and 

Travel ") 
Mufioz, 103 
Murillo, 191 
Music, 10, II, 183 
Myrtles, 19 

Nahuas, 24 

Napoleon, no, 112, 126 

Narvaez, 82 

National Anthem, 172 

National Meat Packing Co., 339 

Navigable rivers, 145, 304, 307, 323, 328, 347 

Navy, 202 

Nazas, 280 

Nazas river, 138, 145, 

288, 313 
Nevado de Toluca, 141, 317 
New Mexico, 34, 105, 114 
New York, 147, 167 
Nezahualcoyotl, 24, 28-31 
Nicaragua, 31 
Nile, 285 

Noche Triste, 32, 84 
Nochistongo, 103 
Nogales, 297 
Nopales, 21, 151 
Nuevo Leon, State of, 271, 310 

Oak, s, 17, 151, 152 {see Forests, Timber) 
Oaxaca, 40-42, in, 124, 128, 132, 142, 271, 284, 

305 
Obregon, Count, 268 
Obsidian, 53, 143 
Ocampo, statesman, 125 
Oceolot, 152 
O'Donoju, Viceroy, 114 
Olid Cristoval, 61, 100 
Olmedo priest, 65, 73 
Olives, 283 
Oranges, 3, n 
Orchids, 5 
Orchillas, 298 
Orgraphy, 139-143 
Orientation of pyramids, 38, 42 
Origin of Mexican people, 35 
Orizaba, 2, 57, in, 140, 319 
Oroya Railway, 341 
Otomies, 24, 32 
Otter, 153 
Otumba, 32, 87, 341 

PACHUCA, 13, 142, 259, 265, 316 
Padilla, Viceroy, 106 
Palenque, 37, 44, 260, 307 
Palmarejo mines, 277 
Palms, 4 



I 



IMDEX 



361 



Palo alto, battle of, 121 

Panama, 57, I35. 345. 348, 3SI 
Pan-American Congress, 354 

>. ,. Railway, 348, 3S4 

Panuco river, 17, 145, 189, 316, 321 
Papaloapam river, 145, 323 
Papantla, 40 
Paper, 52, 338 
Paredes, 122 

Parral, mining district, 276 
Parras, 145, 286, 310 
Partridges, 153 
Pasco de la Reforma, 192 
Passes, mountain, 137 
Patio process, 260, 274 
Patzcuaro lake, 25 146 
Pawnsliop, national, 200 
Pealcs, principal, 140 
Pearl, fisheries, 296, 298 
Pearson & Sons, Ltd., 188, 336 
Pecos river, 144 
Peccaries, 153 
Penitentiaries, 200 
Pefiolies mines, 276, 313 
Peones, 7, 12, 156, 171, 213-217, 237, 294 
Perpetual snow, 2, 6, iS, 139 
Perpetual spring, 147 
Peru, 17, 18, 29, 31, 35, 40, 49, 53, loi, 104, 106, 

H2, 115, 138, 140, 141, 146, 152, 167, 260, 290, 

341. 355 
Petroleum. 280 
Philippine Islands, 103, 276 
Philip II. of Spain, 103, 104, 191 
Philip IV. of Spain, 104 
Pibroch of Donnel Dhu, 173 
Picture-writmg, 23, 62 
" Pie-war," the, 119 

Pine, s, 17, 151, 152 {see Forests and Timber) 
Pinto disease, 304 
Pizarro, loi, 102, 355 
Plaza, 9, 1 1 [see Cities) 
Police, 203 

Political executions, 132 
Ponce de Leon, loi 

Popocatepetl, 15, 17, 20, 105, 140, i8s, 317, 319 
Population {see also the various States), 135, 

154-158, 296-327 
Portales, 180 
Potatoes. 217, 284-291 
Pottery, 53, 241 
Priests, 235-237 
Printing, first, 102 
Progreso, seaport, 325, 326 
Providence mines, 278 
Puebla, 33, 122, 126, 128, 209, 271, 278, 319 
Puebla Tramway Co., 336 
Pulque, 9, 178, 217, 232, 284, 290, 316 
Puma, 152 
Pyramids, 2, 15, 20, 25, 33, 34, 3*-55. 76-97. 229 

Quail, 153 

Quemada, 34 

Queretaro, no, 128, 271, 278, 315, 316 

Quetzalcoatl, 23, 40, 54, 72 

Quicksilver, 260, 280, 304, 314 

Quintana Roo, 325, 327 

Quiroga, Bishop, 102 

Quixotism, 167 

Race-suicide, 352 

Railways, generally, 9, 13, 14, 17, 69, 136, 208 
230, 296-327, 330-349 
„ Mexican Vera Cruz, 4, 130, 320, 324, 

340. 342 
„ „ Central, 131, 300, 302, 304, 

309,311,314,3x9,330,342 
„ „ Southern, 320, 346 



Railways, Mexican National, 132, 310, 314, 322, 

330, 343 
„ Chihuahua and Pacific, 348 
„ Hidalgo and North-Eastem, 344 
„ International, 310, 311, 344 
„ Interoceanic, 319 
„ Kansas City, Mexico and Orient, 347 
„ Monterrey and Gulf, 311 
„ Pan-American, 348 
„ Rio Grande and Pacific, 347 
„ Sonora, 297, 348 
„ Tehuantepec, 133, 306, 312, 323, 345 
„ Vera Cruz and Pacific, 346 
„ Vera Cruz (Mexico), 347 

Rainfall, 137-149, 285, 296-327 

Rattlesnakes, 153 

Rayas mine, 269 

Read, Campbell & Co., 1S8 

Real del Monte, 265, 276, 376 

Reform Laws, 118, 125, 127, 159 

Religion, Aztec and prehistoric, 15, 25, 30, 40, 
79, 81, 227 

Religion, Roman Catholic, 6, 13, 15, 65, 80, 81, 
104, 125, 159, 165, 175, 266-269, 352, 179, 199, 
227 

Rents, 202 

Repudiation of debts, 125 

Restrictive policy, 329 

Revolutions, 117-133 

Rio Grande, 11, 34, 136, 143, 144, 211, 308, 320 

Roads, Aztec and Inca, 50 

Rocky Mountains, 137 

Rubber, rubber trees, 3, 4, 151, 283, 290, 294, 

„ 301, 303, 304, 307, 314, 323, 324, 328 

Rurales, 202, 212 

Russia, 114 

Sauna Cruz seaport, 306, 345 

Salt, 280 

Saltillo, 310 

San Angel, 187, 197 

San Bias seaport, 144, 300, 301 

Sandoval, Gonzalo de, 61, 83, 91 

San Francisco, 182 

San Geronimo, 280 

San Juan Bautista City, 325 

San Juan river, 322 

San Luis Potosi, 210, 258, 271 

San Luis Potosi, State of, 314 

San Rafael mines, 278 

Santa Anna, 115-123 

Santa Eulala mine, 266, 309 

Santa Gertrudis Jute Mills, 336 

Santiago City, 184 

Santiago river, 301 

Sardaiieta, 269 

Scenery, 143, 2-19, 301, 305-327, 340-349 

Scientific character, i66 

,, institutions, 199 
Scorpions, 153, 234 
Scott, General Winifield, 122 
Sculpture, Aztec, 53 
Sea-bathing, 322 
Seals, 153 
Serpents, 4, 152 
Shipbuilding, 325 
Ships, destruction of, 68 
Sierra Madre, 3-19, 136-153, 296-327 
Silver mining {see Mining) 
Sinaloa, State of, 24, 271, 298 
Sisal hemp {see Henequen) 
Sisal seaport, 326 
Skunk, 153 
Slavery, 49, 102, 119 
Smelting, 279, 296, 311, 314, 315, 316 {see also 

Mining) 
Snow, 2, 69, 139, 285, 317, 319 



362 



INDEX 



Snow-cap (see Snow) 

Soap works, 339 

Social conditions, 159-176 

Soil, 138, 149, 285, 287 

Sonora, State of, 142^ 14S, 264, 271 

Soto, La Marina, 280, 321 

South America (see also Andes, Peru, &c.), 

149, 152 
Spanish American civilisation, 10, 11-99 
Spanish characteristics, 99, 159 
Spanish population, 155 
Sport, 168, 153, 246, 251, 253 
Steel works, 311 
Stock-raising (see Cattle) 
Subterraneous altars, 6, 268 
Sugar-cane sugar, 100, 167, 283, 287, 289, 293, 

3or 
Sulphur, 140 
Sun-God, 15 
Sunsets, 7 

Superstition, 223-227 
Switzerland, 32 

Tabasco, State of, 61, 271, 284, 290, 324 

Tacubaya, 124, 140, 187, 197 

Tamaulipas, State of, 112, 115 138, 271, 278, 

280 
Tamesi river, 321 
Tampico, 5, 145, 280, 315, 321, 322 
Tancitaro, peak, 141 
Tapir, 4. 153 
Tarahumara peak, 312 
Tarantulas, 153 
Tarpon fishing, 322 
Taxco, 266, 304 
Taylor, General Zachary, 121 
Tecolotes, 9 
Tehuacan, 346 
Tehuantepec {see also Railways), 135, 144, 149, 

240, 305 
Temperature (see Climate) 
Tenochtitlan, 21-91, 37, i86 
Teocallis (see Pyramids) 
Teotihuacan, 15, 21, 23, 37-40, 48, 341 
Tepanecas, 24, 28 
Tepic, 19, 208, 271, 284, 300 
Tequezquitengo, 318 
Terminos Lagoon, 326 
Terreros, 269 

Tertiary period, 3, 140, 142 
Tetecala, 318 

Texas, 107, 114, 119-T23, 138, 143, 308-310 
Texcoco, 16, 20, 24, 37, 187, 317 
Texcotzinco, 24, 29 
Textile industry, 311, 337 
Teyra, peak, 312 
Tierra caliente, 3-5, 17, 146, 151 
Tierra fria, 5, 146 
Tierra templada, 5, 146 
Timber, 151, 283-285, 262, 296-327 
Tin, 53 (see Mining) 
Tinctorial plants, 151 
Titicaca lake, 17, 26, 138, 146 
Titles, love of, 168, 169 
Tlacoleros, 285 
Tlahincas, 24 
Tlahualilo, 286 
Tlalpam, 187, 197 
Tlapujahua, 278 
Tlascalans, 24, 32, 69-97, 318 
Tlaxcala, State of, 141, 316, 317 
Tobacco, 284, 301, 338 
Toltecs, 15, 20-24, 33> 37-40. 48, 261, 208, 227, 

Toluca, 144, 317 



Tonala, seaport, 307 

Tonatinah, sun-god, 15, 39, 229 

Tonto river, 322 

Topography, 1-19, 136-153, 296-327 

Topolobampo, seaport, 348 

Torreon, 148, 310 

Tortillias, 215, 289 

Tramways, 203 

Treasure buried, 225, 224 

Tribes of Mexico, 24, 33 

Trinidad mine, 277, 278 

Tula, 22, 25, 261 

Tunas, 151, 291 

Turkeys, 251 

Turtles, 152 

Tuxpam river, 323, 343 

Tuxtla Gutierrez, 307 

Ulua, San Juan de, 2, 117 
Unknown God, the, 29, 77, 228 
United States, 10, ii, 109, 112, ri6, 119, 135, 
160, 278, 288, 311, 351-356 (see ako American) 
Usumacinta river, 145, 307, 
Uxmal, 37, 45 

Vaqueros, 8 

Valenciana mine, 264, 267 

Valparaiso, 184 

Velasquez, governor, 57, 80, 103 

Valasquez, painter, 191 

Vegetation, 148 

Venegas, viceroy, no 

Venezuela, 115 

Vera Cruz, 2, 5, 56, 103, 119, 122, 135, 145, 271, 

284, 285, 290, 322, 346 
Vera Cruz Light and Power Co., 336 
Viceroys, the, 98-112 
Victoria, city, 322 
Victoria, President, 116 
Viga Canal, 189 
Volcanoes, 15, 137, 139, 140, 142, 185 

War, American-Mexican, 116, 119-124, 201 
War, English-Spanish, 105-106 
War, French-Mexican, 119 
Warlike spirit, 172 
War, Spanish-Mexican, 113, ri8 
Water-parting, 17, 70, 305, 307, 310, 319, 345 
Water-power, 143, 145, 189, 317, 323, 336, 337 
Water-supply, 203, 231, 285, 292, 296-327 (see 

also Irrigation) 
Wellington, in 
Whales, 153 

Wheat, 208, 283, 289, 291 
White man in the tropics, 352 
Wild-cats, 152 
Wolves, 152 
Women of Mexico, 11, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 

239, 240 

xochimilco, 24, 188, 189 

Yankees, 121, 250 
Yaqui river, 145, 296 
Yaqui River Smelting Co., 279 
Yellow fever, 2, 5, 306, 324 
Yucatan, 5, 22, 45, 57, 61, 114, 141, 143, 144, 
145, 290, 325, 326, 327 

Zacatecas, 13, 34, 210, 258, 259, 271, 278, 279, 

313 
Zacatula, 145 
Zapotecas Indians, 124 
Zopilotes, 8, 324 
Zumarraga, Archbishop, 29, 52 



UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON. 



(THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES, Vol. II.) 

PERU 

Its Former and Present Civilization, History and Political 

Conditions, Topography and Natural Resources, 

Commerce and General Development. 

By C. REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S., Author of "The Andes 

and the Amazon." 

With an Introduction by Martin Hume, a Map, and Numerous 

Illustrations. Demy 8vo, cloth. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 

"An important work. . . . The writer possesses a quick eye and a 
keen intelligence ; is many-sided in his interests, and on certain subjects 
speaks as an expert. The volume deals fully with the development of the 
country, and is written in the same facile and graphic style as before. 
Illustrated by a large number of excellent photographs." — The Times. 

" Mr. C. Reginald Enock's elaborate and well-studied descriptive 
treatise would be sure of a welcome even were it less well done than 
it is. The work unites in the happiest way the best qualities of an official 
manual and a personal description. Plentifully illustrated, well informed, 
and written throughout in an agreeable style, the book will prove 
interesting reading." — Scotsman. 

" Mr. Enock's book contains much material necessary for our en- 
lightenment of Peru. In every part of his book one finds the evidences 
of independent personal observation directed by a mind trained for such 
work. The book may be commended to all students, not only of the 
West, but of the East." — Morning Post. 

"The author treats of Peru as a political and commercial entity, and we 
find it even more interesting than his previous work." — The Economist. 

" An able and exhaustive study of Peru ; its past, its present, and in- 
teresting matter upon which to estimate its future. As one reads through 
page after page of clear, concise, graphic description, one feels that one 
has actually travelled with Mr. Enock. All will find in this charming 
volume matter of interest." — New York Herald. 

" The book is a valuable contribution to the literature of Peru, and a 
trustworthy summary of our knowledge of the country. The illustrations 
are excellent, and give an admirable idea of the scenery." — Manchester 
Guardian. 

"Mr. Enock's admirable book will certainly direct attention to the 
country. No one can read this able and delightful volume without 
acquiring much information and great interest in a country of which so 
little is known." — Aberdeen Free Press. , 

" We have read the present book from cover to cover, and it seems to 
tell just what is wanted about one of the most interesting countries in the 
world. Mr. Enock's ways as a traveller commend him to ns."— Country 
Gentleman. 



(THE SOUTH AMERICAN SERIES, Vol. 11.) 

PERU 

Its Former and Present Civilization, History and Political 

Conditions, Topography and Natural Resources, 

Commerce and General Development. 

By C. REGINALD ENOCK, F.R.G.S., Author of "The Andes 

and the Amazon." 

With an Introduction by Martin Hume, a Map, and Numerous 

Illustrations. Demy 8vo, cloth. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 



•' Mr. Enock's work is of the highest value as a careful account of the 
existing conditions of Peru. The book is as interesting as it is in- 
structive." — Truth. 

" A magnificent collection of information on this interesting country. 
The author's vivid and eloquent description invests it for us vs^ith some of 
the glamour it possessed for the Conquistadores of the sixteenth century. 
And on closing the book the reader feels tempted to set out at once for 
Peru." — Yorkshire Observer. 

"A glowing and detailed account, with a mass of information which 
will prove of immense service alike to students, travellers, and traders." — 
Daily Graphic. 

" Mr. Enock's former work was so good that any new effort of his was 
bound to attract notice. In the present volume we find all his best 
qualities — picturesqueness, literary skill, a dexterous combination of fact 
and suggestiveness, a succinct historical survey, and a clearly-drawn 
picture of existing social conditions — a book of unusual excellence." — 
Birmingham Post. 

" The author is already favourably known, and he writes with the same 
thoroughness about Peru. One rises from the perusal of so lucid an 
exhaustive a survey with a vivid impression. Many fine illustrai 
heighten the appeal of this thoroughly practical and welcome volume. 
Standard. 

" Mr. Enock has turned out an admirable addition to ' The Sou 
American Series.' Many will welcome his admirable resume of the stoi 
of the Inca Empire and the history of the Spanish Conquest 
occupation of this wonderful country." — Glasgow Herald. 



BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
Third Impression 

THE ANDES AND THE AMAZON 

Life and Travel in Peru 

With a Map and Numerous Illustrations. Medium 8vo, cloth. 



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